God Dragon Slayer
by DarkTwil
Summary: Year X777, after stumbling into Makarov, Natsu joins Fairy Tail. But will he remain? As strong as he was, he wasn’t strong enough. He crosses path with an unknown, yet familiar figure, who will only help him grow stronger, but will also change him. Stronger Natsu/ darker Natsu M rated for possible violence in future chapters
1. Fairy Tail

**So I just got the idea and decided I wanted to write this for fun. **

**T****he story holds spoilers from the 100-year quest, so don't read it if you don't want to be spoiled. But the only thing I'm using so far is new characters such as Ignia, Igneel's son and I might add some others as I go further into the story.**

**I'm gonna be changing some personalities, along with some back stories. I'll also probably add some OC's to the story.**

**I'll be mostly following the canon arcs, with some changes in them.**

**I hope you enjoy the story. I always appreciate the reviews but please, I'm kinda new to this so don't judge too harshly.**

**‼️Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all its characters‼️**

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**Fairy Tail**

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**X777**

Somewhere on Earthland, beyond the vast blue seas, on a certain continent, a dragon laid still, sleeping on the tall grasses of a clearing, when suddenly, a familiar scent and sensation, awoke the large beast from its slumber. He flickered his eyes open before grinning.

**"It seems he's finally here. Now the fun begins"**

A devilish smirk appeared on his face, he got up and as he stretched his bat-like wings, he flew to the skies.

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Somewhere in the kingdom of Fiore, as the heavy rains dropped on the ground, the forests and the whole area darkening, and inside the dark woods, a small boy sat of the soil, his body wet from the raindrops as he sat motionless on the ground, looking down, his bangs covering the teary eyes, filled with sorrow and abandon.

"I don't understand, why did you leave Igneel? Did I do something wrong?... Please, answer me" he voiced in whispers, a few tears falling on the grass.

A little further away, a small old man walked through the forest, and as he passed by, his attention suddenly turned to a salmon-haired boy, sitting under the rain, half-naked with only a white scaly scarf wrapped around his neck, alone in the middle of the forest. He frowned at the state of the boy and directed his path towards him. The boy became wary has he felt someone approaching, looked up and saw the old man, just a few feet away from him. They stared for a while before someone spoke.

"Where are your parents, boy?"

The small boy looked away, "He left"

The older man's eyebrows furrowed deeper, he then sat down in front of the boy, who averted his eyes back to the man. "What are you going to do now?".

"I'll go look for him. I will find him. He wouldn't just leave without reason, I know it." He stated, clenching his fists, his onyx eyes still holding onto the hope of seeing his father again. He stared at the man, who gave off a warm smile, which kind of surprised him since he didn't really expect a stranger to care at all.

"How about you come with me. I'm sure we'll find someone who can help you find your father. Tell me, what does he look like?"

The boy smiled and got up "He's a red dragon! Did you by any chance see him?!" He asked, his voice holding hope and optimism, he looked impatiently at the man, awaiting his answer. The old man looked at him with wide eyes and blinked '_A dragon? Here? I thought they were all extinct? How does this boy know one? He said his parent was a dragon, but how?' _He regained his composure and cleared his voice "I'm sorry but I haven't. Your father is a dragon?" he asked curiously.

He smiled and nodded "Yeah! He's the fire dragon king, Igneel. He raised me and taught me dragon slaying magic." He confidently declared, prideful of being his son.

To say the man was shocked was an understatement. He looked at him in astonishment. He finally came to a decision. He extended a hand and grinned widely "Well, you see, I'm the master of a magic guild called Fairy Tail. Mages come and go all the time. If someone sees a dragon, we'll be sure to know. Instead of wandering around aimlessly, how about you come and check out the guild? It might help you in your search"

The small boy thought about it for a few seconds before giving a toothy grin, showing his sharp canines "Yeah, that would be great. Thanks a lot, old man"

"I'm not that old" he mumbled "My name is Makarov. Nice to meet ya"

"I'm Natsu Dragneel."

"Now then, let's get going." Makarov motioned for him to follow him, and they set their path to Magnolia, the town where one of the rowdiest and strongest guilds in Fiore resided.

The two walked for a few days before arriving at their destination. Along the way, Makarov took it upon him to get the pink-haired boy some clothes as he was walking around almost naked. That probably wouldn't have been the best idea, considering they had to walk through towns. While being in each other's company, they got more acquainted. Makarov took the opportunity to teach him a little about guilds and the country and was a little surprised to see that the boy knew so little about society. But then again, he did remember that Natsu lived most of his life with a dragon and away from civilization. The dragon slayer talked a lot about his father and all his training. He happily told the old man stories about his adventures with the dragon.

Finally, Magnolia came into view and the duo walked through town, Natsu looking at everything in awe, as he watched people doing leading their everyday life, the shops and... They arrived at the doors of the Fairy Tail guildhall, Natsu looked at the large building amazed, excitement clear on his expression. Makarov smiled at the boy and opened the door. Natsu's jaw slightly opened when he saw the interior of the building.

It was so full of life, the sound of people chattering and laughing filled the area. Natsu looked around, saw people drinking, eating, talking and having fun. The place looked more like a bar. But the magical presence he felt was so warm and welcoming, the place really appealed to him.

Makarov sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath, before starting to yell at everyone "WHAT DO YOU BRATS THINK YOU'RE DOING?! Every time I leave for these meetings and I come back to a total wrecked guildhall! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THIS ALL COSTS?!" Natsu sweatdropped at the old man and then his eyes wandered around the Guildhall before realizing how wrecked the place was. It looked like a storm blasted the guild apart.

"Oh hey Master, welcome back!"

"Who's the brat with ya?!"

Makarov grinned and put a hand on Natsu's back "This is Natsu, he's gonna be a part of the guild." They all cheered and Natsu grinned in response.

"I bet he's as destructive as the other kids."

"I think we just need one more of those before the guild turns into dust."

"How strong is he? What magic does he use?"

The sound of laughter and joy echoed throughout the place. Natsu followed Makarov to the bar, where he got his guild mark. Red, on his right shoulder. He got some food from the bar, and as he ate, he observed the place and the people in it.

"How do you like it so far, kid?" he turned around and say an orange-haired man, smirking at him, sitting next to him.

"It's awesome. Everyone seems so fun and lively."

"I'm Gildarts by the way. Yep, that's Fairy Tail for ya." He continued watching the rowdy people in the room along with Natsu. "So anyway, what magic do you use?"

"I use fire dragon slaying magic. I learned it from my dad. He's a fire dragon" he announced and was confronted with a surprised look form Gildarts. But they were soon interrupted with the arrival of a raven-haired boy. "Yeah right. Dragons are extinct. You're just a liar."

Natsu scowled at him and glared at the boy in his boxers "Igneel is real. He's the fire dragon king, and he taught me magic." He retorted and hoped off the barstool. "I bet you're just making up this story, Pinky" he grimaced and glared. "Shut up you pervert" The two buttheaded as they continued to glare daggers at each other.

"Who're you calling pervert?!"

"You obviously. You like stripping in front of people or something?"

"What the- when did that happen?!" The boy realized he was down to his boxers, startled, he started looking around for his missing pieces of clothing.

"Gray~ What did I tell you about walking in the guild in your boxers?" A scarlet-haired girl, wearing some kind of armor appeared, bearing a dark expression. The raven-haired boy gulped. Natsu laughed at his expense and after seeing the terrified look on his face. His laughter soon stopped as the girl collided both of the boys' heads together and they both fell to the ground, groaning as they messaged their bumps. "No fighting in the guild! Is that clear?!" She demanded.

Natsu ignored the other boy's signals to 'not retaliate' against the red hair girl, got up and scowled at the armored mage "Who the heck do you think you are?! You can't tell me what to do!" he yelled, but his expression dropped when the girl's expression transformed into a terrifying one. He gulped and tried to hold onto a strong expression, failing miserably at it.

"You wanna repeat that?!" she asked in a dark and warning tone.

"No ma'am!" Natsu announced as he dropped to the floor. "She's scary" he whispered. "Tell me about it" Gray mumbled, agreeing with the pink haired boy. They grinned at each other.

"Oi Red! Good job in scaring the new kid on his first day. I think it's a record" A white-haired girl with her hair attached in a ponytail, wearing a punk style clothing approaching as she laughed hysterically at the scarlet mage. She received a glare from the other girl.

"I didn't scare him. I just informed him of our rules in the guild." She retorted, justifying her actions to the white-haired mage.

"Yeah, she's right! I'm not scared of her!" Natsu got back up. He then felt a tug on his shirt and looked down at Gray "Dude, don't get in the middle of those two." he warned him. Natsu shrugged and looked back at the two.

The scarlet mage approached the white-haired one "If anyone scares people, is you, demon"

"Oh yeah, maybe that's because I'm stronger than you, armored freak"

"You? stronger than me? Not happening!"

"You wanna settle it then?"

"Bring it on Slut. No way you're stronger than me"

Natsu who was standing next to Gray looked at them in confusion, "Didn't she just say not to fight?"

"Yep," Gray nodded in agreement.

Out of nowhere a small white haired girl, followed by a tall white-haired boy approached the group. "Big sis, can you please not fight again," she asked, hoping that would stop it. The older sibling gave out a devilish smirk "I've gotta teach Red here a lesson"

The small girl sighed, then, she made her way to Natsu. She smiled "Hi! My name is Lisanna. Over there is my older sister, Mira, fighting with Erza. And this is Elfman, my big brother" she introduced herself along with others.

"Nice to meet you guys. Name's Natsu" He grinned.

Lisanna, along with everyone who wasn't Erza and Mira left the two to sort out their problems and went to sit at an empty table. It wasn't long before a few other children joined them. One was Levy, a blue-haired girl who seemed rather interested in books, along with two other boys, who stuck around her, Jet and Droy. Another girl was Cana. a brown haired girl, who seemed rather shy and quiet. They sat there and chatted, Natsu told stories of his dad and some seemed rather eager to listen. He ignored most of Gray's comment on the subject.

At the bar, Makarov sat on the table, next to Gildarts as they both held their drinks in hand and looked at the room.

"Seems he's fitting right in. I bet he's as destructive as the other kids." Gildarts commented and sweatdropped when he saw the master crying comically and mumbling something about the bills he would have to pay because of all the brats.

Soon enough, the night fell and people started to leave the Guildhall and go to their homes.

"Natsu my boy, come here for a minute." Natsu, hearing Makarov call out for him, obeyed the order and walked towards the bar. "I don't think you have any money on you and you don't have a place to stay. How about I ask one of your guildmates if they would agree to help you out until you gain enough money to pay rent?" he suggested.

"No need. I saw a forest not too far from here. I'll go into the woods. Thanks anyways" he announced happily.

Makarov frowned "I definitely don't want you sleeping in the middle of nowhere Natsu."

The dragon slayer raised an eyebrow "You do realize I lived all my life in a cave right?"

The master sighed in exhaustion "Look, I'm not letting you stay in a forest. Whether you like it or not, you're gonna have a roof over your head." This wasn't a demand, it was an order. Natsu finally gave in and accepted that he wasn't getting out of it.

Makarov looked around the guild to see who was left that was available to offer the pink haired boy a house. He then spotted the person he was looking for. "Gray is it possible for Natsu to bunk with you until he finds a place to stay. It would help a lot". Gray lived alone in a small apartment in town. Makarov had noticed despite everything, Gray was rather a lonesome boy and those two becoming friends would help out both of them.

Natsu, on the other hand, wasn't too keen about it. Neither was Gray. Their first encounter today wasn't the most pleasant and they bickered a lot even on the first day. The dragon slayer shook his head "You know what, I think I'll go find a cave. See ya" he took a step to walk away but was quickly stopped by giant hands, coming from the old man. "You are not sleeping in the woods Natsu."

Gray was hesitant. He sighed "Fine. Whatever. He can stay with me" he put his hands in his pockets and looked the other way, as if not caring. Natsu gritted his teeth as his eyes twitched. He didn't really have a choice in the matter, so he decided to go along with it. The two then left the Guildhall and directed their route towards Gray's house.

The rest of the night went rather silently, and the two didn't really talk much. Natsu took the couch and the boys slept both peacefully till the next morning.

The next day, Natsu and Gray showed up early in the morning, Natsu went out to check up the request board. He snatched one off the board and ran to the master with the piece of paper.

"Can I go on this one?" he asked.

"Yeah sure but you have to take someone with you. You need someone more experienced to show you around it" Makarov said.

"But-"

"No buts Natsu. Go find someone to accompany you"

Natsu left with a pout and looked around the hall. He then approached the raven-haired boy and shoved the paper in his face. "You wanna go on this mission. Gramps saying I have to have someone from the guild with me to show me how it works and whatever. You wanna come?"

Gray looked over the mission and to be honest, he found the monster hunting job rather interesting, so he accepted and the two boys set out for their mission. The mission's location was rather far, so they were obligated to use the train to get to their destination. As soon as the train started working, Natsu turned green and started groaning at the new found pain he was suffering from.

Gray just laughed at his misery "Wow, you've got a serious case of motion sickness. It's pathetic" He continued chuckling. Natsu weakly glared at him and as he prepared a come back to his last comment, a sudden urge to puke erased that thought from his mind, and rushed to the window and puked out his breakfast. "Get me off...this torture device...I think I'm dying"

For the rest of the ride, he groaned from his pain and after a while of laughing, Gray eventually just fell asleep on the train.

Once they arrived, the duo walked towards their final destination. After talking to some people about the mission, they went to a mountain, where the monsters were located.

"It should be around here. So we're looking for Vulcans, huh?" Gray looked at the map in hand, and looked around, trying to spot the creatures they were supposed to defeat.

"They're probably scared of us." Natsu let out a laugh, which died down as soon as a large group of them came to view and surrounded them.

"You were saying..."

"Nevermind"

The two boys got into a fighting stance, ready to take on the Vulcans. The boys had their backs to each other. Gray spoke "You take right, I take left. Sounds good?" Natsu hummed in agreement. Gray got into his ice-make stance, and as for Natsu, he engulfed his hands in fire and they both lunged towards their targets.

"**Ice-make: Wall**" He shouted as ice began forming a barrier, surrounding the Vulcans. He then ran towards them, "**Ice-make: Hammer**" Gray created a large ice hammer, and dropped it on the Vulcan with a great force. He resumed with the same tactic and attacked his targets.

On the other side, Natsu punched the Vulcans with fire, defending at the same time as the creatures attacked him back. "**Fire dragon's Iron fist**" with his fire engulfed fists and punched the monsters continuously. Some of them fell.

"Is it just me or they keep showing up?" Natsu confused as to why their numbers didn't seem to drop when they did take out a few.

"Yeah, you're right. There are a lot of them. I think we should change strategies. I can make a wall, blocking them from escaping. Do you have a spell that can take out a lot of them?" Gray looked at him, waiting for a response. "I've got just the thing" Natsu announced with a smirk.

The two of them ran away from the Vulcans, putting some distance between them so that they could follow through with their plan.

"Okay, so I'm gonna a large barrier to surround all of them and you shoot fire or whatever," Gray said as he got his magic ready.

"Got it"

Gray summoned a large portion of his magic, and a wall formed around the Vulcans. "Do it now!" he yelled at Natsu. The dragon slayer began gathering flames in his mouth "**Fire dragon's Roar**" he released a large quantity of fire from his mouth, the area where the Vulcans stood became filled with fire. A little while after, the flames died down and the creatures came into view, all beaten on the ground. Gray and Natsu smirked at each other, happy with their achievement.

"Guess we can go back to the guild now" Natsu announced, grinning proudly at his work. Gray nodded. The two after, repoing to the clients, went towards the train station.

"No way in hell I'm going back on this death trap. Let's just walk back" Natsu shivered at the sight of the vehicle.

"It'll take days to get back. We're taking the train" Gray announced firmly, grabbing Natsu's collar and dragging him onto the train. Despite Natsu's attempts of getting away from it, the duo ended up taking the train, all the while, Natsu cursing the vehicle.

The rest of the day went rather smoothly, as they arrived and reported at the guild, and then made their way back to Gray's house.

A few days later, as the two boys arrived at the guild like usual, were greeted by their friends. They spent the morning at the guild, Natsu spent it talking to Lisanna and the others sat around the table and chatted.

For days now, Natsu had this feeling welt up inside him, and today, he decided to confront it. As he followed the sensation he was getting, he came face to face with a tall blond-haired boy, seemingly in his teenagers. The boy stared at Natsu, confused as to why the younger boy was inspecting him. "What do you want?" he was clearly irritated by the boy's actions.

Natsu narrowed his eyes and starred for a few seconds before questioning him "Are you a dragon slayer?"

The question shocked the blond, as it was unexpected since he didn't think anyone would find out this soon. "You aren't you? I'm a dragon slayer too" Natsu continued "So, who was the dragon who raised you?" he asked curiously, excited to have met another like him.

"tch" was all that the boy responded, before walking away. Natsu ran after him, "Don't ignore me. No seriously, did your dragon left you too?"

"Shut up" he uttered, hoping the younger boy would leave him alone. But that just made him even madder. Natsu tried to stop him by grabbing onto his shirt but was pushed back as the boy voiced "I don't have a dragon alright. I never even met a dragon. Now leave me alone"

Natsu's eyes widened in shock when the realization hit him. He looked down, and suddenly, his aura began to darken and spoke as his eyes got covered by his pink locks "You mean you have a dragon lacrima inside you?" he voiced in a low tone, hiding the anger in his voice. The blond looked at him, and replied, ignoring the venom in his tone "Yeah, so what?"

Out of nowhere, the teenage boy was slammed onto the floor, after receiving a surprise punch from Natsu. That caught everyone's attention as they saw one of the strongest members of the guild, thrown to the ground by the new kid. They were all shocked at the dark aura that was being emitted by the boy. But what scared them the most was his eyes. They now gleamed in crimson light, holding nothing but bloodlust and fury.

"Did you see that? The kid punched Laxus" a member spoke

Laxus was thrown back a bit by the surprise attack but quickly got up, glared at the other dragon slayer, now angry and irritated by his actions, "Who the hell do you think you are?!" At first, he received nothing but low growls and hisses, but then Natsu voiced a few words "Bastard, you took a dragon's magic. I'm gonna make you pay" he hissed as he gave the other one death glares. He then lunged forward, fire emanating from every part of his body, and started striking Laxus. However, this time, Laxus wasn't going to be taken by surprise. He gave Natsu a hard punch to the gut, throwing him to the wooden columns of the Guildhall.

Makarov was shocked and disconcerted. A child holding killing intents for reasons he did not understand was beyond what he had imagined.

Natsu despite the attack he just received, got back with the same determination as before, rage taking over his entire body, and started attacking Laxus aimlessly, his strikes holding nonetheless a very large power to them. Laxus mostly dodged the attacks but the sheer hotness of the flames that got too close to him was starting to burn him. Laxus, having had enough of all this, started radiating sparks of lightning from his body, standing in front of the boy engulfed in flames.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Makarov raised his voice to an almost inhuman level, wanting nothing but to stop this madness that was going on in his guild. Laxus tilted his head towards his grandfather, and unnoticed, Natsu began gathering fire in his mouth and as he got ready to release the flames, he was suddenly stopped when someone got a hold of him, and he, in his state of rage, thrashed and retaliated in that someone's arms. Gildarts had got a hold of him, trying to keep him still, so that he would calm down, "You need to calm down Natsu. You're going completely berserk"

In the meantime, Makarov walked towards Laxus, first checking on his injuries and then questioning him about what had just happened. "Laxus, what happened? Why did you two start fighting?" Laxus was still started by the sudden attacks and confused at all that had happened himself. "I don't know Gramps. He just asked me about dragon slayers, and he suddenly got all angry after I told him that I wasn't raised by a dragon. What the hell? That's it I'm gonna kick his ass." he tried to walk away but was stopped by his grandfather, who just shook his head, motioning for him to just lay low.

Makarov them walked to where Natsu and Gildarts were, relieved that the red and fury in the dragon slayer's eyes had finally disappeared and he had seemingly calmed down. Natsu just let out heavy breaths, his face still filled with a little anger and a lot of confusion. "Natsu! I demand to know why you just attacked Laxus like that. That was no normal spar or friendly match. You had every intention to actually kill him. Why Natsu?" He wasn't happy about the situation and seeing one of his children attack another like that disturbed him. But he was still thankful that nothing truly bad came out of it.

Natsu stared at Makarov, at loss of words, trying to find a way to justify his actions. He then looked down "He stole a dragon's magic. He had no right to. Becoming a dragon slayer like that is wrong. He's considered evil for doing so. He's betraying the dragons" he voiced quietly, but loud enough for the people surrounding them to hear him. Makarov frowned and thought about how Natsu was raised by an actual dragon "Natsu, I understand that you were taught and raised by the dragon's principals. But what you did was wrong and wanting to hurt someone for that is even worse. You have to understand that it wasn't his choice to have a lacrima implanted in him. His father forced that on him. He didn't get a say in the matter." Natsu's eyes grew wide in shock, he tilted his head towards Laxus, guilt filling his mind and expression. He looked down ashamed "I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I'm really sorry. I just jumped to conclusions." He gritted his teeth and his eyes met with Laxus'. It's true that he was forced to have this lacrima but he hadn't realized it was a traitorous act to have one inside of him. He scratched the back of his head and sighed "It's fine. Nobody got really hurt and I guess I should've explained too. Just forget it, alright?" he said as he approached and looked at the boy, who was clearly sorry for his actions. Natsu looked up, happy that he was being forgiven, but not entirely since he still felt the guilt. "No, I still shouldn't have attacked you without reason. So I'm sorry." His onyx eyes meeting Laxus's, the older boy smiled "It alright I told you. And plus, you're not the only one to be at fault. And plus, you're not half bad, even if it wasn't a real fight." Laxus and Natsu then both went to the infirmary, tending to their minor injuries.

Soon enough, the guild went back to it's usual and people pretty soon forgot all about what had just happened. The kids were a bit stunned at the power that Natsu showed them. Everyone went back to their usual activities and with that, at the end of the day, everyone went back home the same way they came in the morning.

A few months passed since Natsu joined the guild. He had grown close to a lot of children form his age. He hung around Lisanna, Gray, Erza, Mira, Laxus and the others most of the time. Most of his missions he went with Gray, as they had found out after some time that they worked pretty well together. Gildarts had become a sort of father figure to him as well as Makarov. He had come to view the guild as his family.

The moon shone brightly in the sky, lighting the dark skies in its light, the streets if Magnolia, dipped into silence when a small pink haired figure walked the path to the guild. At this hour, the only person possibly remaining would be the master, probably working in his office. Natsu quietly entered the Guildhall and made his way to the second floor where the master's office was located. He knocked on the door and got a signal for him to come in. He entered the office, Makarov was sitting at his desk, where a huge pile of papers was, almost hiding the small old man behind it.

"It pretty late, Natsu. Is there anything you need?" he asked, curious as to why he would have a visit at this hour.

"I'm leaving Fairy Tail"


	2. Another path

**Hey there, back with the second chapter,**

**so in this story, there will be spoilers of chapter 21 of the 100-year quest so please don't read it if you don't want to be spoiled. I'd hate to ruin it for you.**

**Anyway, I'll try to write longer chapters when I can and not to take to long cause I myself am NOT a patient person so... I'll try but I've still got school and stuff so no promises.**

**Thanks for the reviews and hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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** Another path**

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" I'm leaving Fairy Tail"

As the boy announced, Makarov's expression remained calm and composed, hiding away any shock he received from the news, he stared into the boy's eyes, all sorts of questions filling his mind. They stared for another minute before the old man spoke.

"Any specific reasons Natsu?"

Natsu didn't break the eye contact. His expression was rather determined and so were his eyes, but Makarov could clearly see that he wasn't being completely honest. Not with him and most importantly not with himself. What bothered him was that the choice didn't seem like it was entirely his. The dragon slayer's expression was almost believable and most would have but to trained eyes, Makarov knew there was something wrong.

"I found a lead to Igneel...and it's pretty far. I wanna go see the world while I look for him and I don't want to be bound to a place, or guild." Natsu replied. It pained him to lie to the old man the way he was doing it, but he had to. The master had to believe that that was his reasoning. He continued to look at Makarov, awaiting some kind of response from him.

Makarov's expression turned into a sad smile. He was too old, too experienced to be fooled by such deceptions. The young boy wasn't the best at acting out of his mind and character, and lying wasn't really his forty. He knew Natsu well enough to know that he wouldn't up and leave the guild if some part of him didn't want to. Maybe the reasons he was told were lies but Makarov just hoped that the boy wasn't lying to himself. "I'm glad that you found information about Igneel. And Natsu, I won't try to stop you. I just hope that you know what you're doing. Fairy Tail will miss you, that's for sure."

Natsu smiled, glad that it wasn't going to be as difficult as he originally thought. "I'm definitely gonna miss everyone here. Thanks for everything Gramps. The time I spent here was awesome. I learned tones of new things thanks to you and everybody else." he gave off a toothy grin, fighting hard to hold back the tears. He was decided. He wanted to do this. This was his choice and there was no going back.

"I'm sure we'll cross paths again and know that Fairy Tail's doors are always open to you. I hope the best for you and go do great out there Natsu"

A with a final wave, Natsu left the Fairy Tail building, uncertain that he would ever see it again.

He walked once again down the streets of Magnolia, this time, directing his path to the outskirts of the town. As he reached the hill, he looked back one last time, thinking back at the reason why he was leaving his new found home.

Flashback

_After sparring with Erza all afternoon, he walked back to the guild as the sun had begun to set._

_"Man, I'm beat. She's so strong, but I will become stronger one day. Just you wait, Erza." He was determined to one day surpass her. Sure she could be scary, but she was also nice and fun to fight._

_"And now I'm so hungry. Oh, I got it. Maybe I should go to the new food stand that opened in town. I heard the food is awesome there" he drooled as his mind became filled with images of a bunch of different foods. He continued walking back from the outskirts of town were he had spared with Erza, the armored mage decided to head back home to Fairy Hills so she took a different path. He fastened his pace when the town came into view but suddenly stopped in his tracks when a strange scent hit his nostrils. And it wasn't just the scent. A strange familiar feeling, but sinister and obscure at the same time, filled the area._

_Some part of him was telling him to run and ignore it, but his instincts were pushing him towards it as if attracted to the source life a magnet. His instincts got the better of him and so, he trailed the scent deeper into the woods, away from Magnolia, as he pursued the power he felt from before. As he got closer, he could tell that the atmosphere was darkening, and became more wary with every step he took._

_It was the first time he actually felt the effect of the heat. It was as if he was entering a volcano and it was an estranged sensation to him since the warmth of the temperature never bothered him, nor did he really noticed it before._

_He went past some bushes and finally, he reached a small pond, in which right next to it, a young man was sitting, legs crossed, with a dark smirk on his face. as he looked at Natsu._

_"Finally, took you long enough" the figure voiced. _

_It was starting to get dark and the fact that he was now deep inside the woods didn't help with the lighting. He couldn't clearly see the shape of the man but his eyes were as clear as they would under daylight. A pair of golden eyes, slit pupils looked at him, he felt as if they were piercing through his entire being. If he wasn't leery enough before, now, he became alert and vigilant and the sinister aura surrounding the stranger didn't help. _

_Despite the darkness he felt emitting from the person in front of him, he couldn't help but approach it and then it hit him. The scent, it was too familiar to ignore it. It resembled strongly... the one belonging to Igneel. He was now definitely conflicted. The two feelings he was getting from him were entirely different and clashed with one another. Which one should he obey?_

_"You're just gonna stand there? Oh well, I really shouldn't be surprised, we did just meet and we technically don't even know each other. Well...you don't know me. However, I know exactly who you are, Igneel's child."_

_Natsu's eyes widened, confused and shocked, questions overflowing his mind. "You know...Igneel?" _

_The man slowly got up and closed in the distance between them. As he got closer, his form became more and more clear to Natsu's eyes. He appeared in the form of a young man, with a rather toned and muscular body, his light hair going upwards with its tips a little tinged. It resembled more the color of a light fire some might say. As he got closer, the dark tattoos coating his form became visible to his eyes. On his left chest, a large tribal design of the sun, and all his left arm, up to his shoulders were covered by different tribal markings. The markings in form of sun's flames stretched to his left side of his face, ending at his forehead. His other arm was covered in bandages and his other attire consisted of loose pants with diverse designs and he accessorized himself with earings and a large pendant hanging from his neck. [Sorry for the long design of appearance, I felt like I should]_

_Natsu looked up at the stranger, standing and fighting back the feeling of intimidation he got from him. The young man stared at the younger one, cocked his head to the side as he leaned forward, bringing his face closer to the latter, and gave a small smirk. "You can smell it can't you? The smell of Igneel..." he stood up straight once again "I'm Igneel's biological son. My name is Ignia and I'm the fire dragon god. Nice to finally meet you Natsu, the fire dragon slayer"_

_Natsu was frozen on the spot. He stared at the man, eyes widened, making sense of what had just occurred. He stood there open-mouthed, wondering if what he had just heard was the truth. He had undeniable proof right in front of him. The scent was so familiar and yet so distant. He should have been able to recognize it on the spot. But that didn't matter right now._

_"By your reaction, I think I should perhaps explain myself. You see, I'm his blood son. In dragon culture, after the mating season, it's rare for baby dragons to ever meet their father. The mother raises them. So that's why you probably never heard of me. But I know all about you. Even though I didn't really care about Igneel, I heard that he thought of you as his son and taught you your magic." He uttered and then grinned darkly at the reaction he was getting from Natsu._

_"But how...Wait! How can you transform into a human? Are you...-"_

_"Every dragon can. Some choose not to and Igneel especially since he was a pure dragon. But that doesn't really matter now, does it? I bet you wanna know why I'm even here?" he was met with silence form Natsu's part, so he continued "I'll take that as a yes. You see, normally, I wouldn't even care if you were to die or to live and I am still a little hesitant of what I want to do with you"_

_Natsu, after hearing that, glared and gritted his teeth in anger and frustration of the situation he found himself in. He wanted nothing more but to punch him in the face, but he held back and to be truthful, he didn't think he stood a chance against the man radiating such power._

_"Don't look at me like that. I mean, you're just a human. Why should I care at all? But...since you are Igneel's kid, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't interested at all in what you could do and achieve. You're so weak right now but perhaps, I could change that. Plus, you are kind of like my brother in some way so I guess I should let you live." he paused and let a deep sigh, and continued "To have a brother as weak as you are right now is disgraceful and totally unacceptable. It's almost disgusting."_

_Rage and anger grew inside of the dragon slayer as he heard himself being so belittled by Ignia "I'm not weak you bastard. I still have plenty of time to grow stronger. I will become stronger" he announced, full of determination and resolve. _

_The dragon narrowed his eyes and furrowed "You'll grow stronger huh? Yeah right, not with those humans you won't. They make you weak and the more you are with them, the weaker you will become-" he was unable to finish his phrase, as Natsu interrupted him "You're wrong! Friends don't make you weak. They help you and support you and they become our strength" he declared with tenacity. Ignia could see that the boy truly believed in those words._

_"I guess I can't really blame you. You were with humans after all and I heard that Igneel was a big softy. But the world is a completely different place from what you know and 'friendship' will lead only to your demise" Venom dripped from his words and emphasized on the word 'friendship'. He clenched his aw, becoming slightly annoyed that this taking too long and he wasn't exactly the most patient person here. "Do you want to become stronger Natsu?"_

_Natsu didn't expect that question so he was slightly taken aback. "Yeah, I'm not stupid you know. I know that when you're strong, you can protect the people you love and fight for your ideals. I know that Igneel will be proud of me when I meet him if I show him how much I've improved. I'm gonna find him and show him my power" he announced and gave off a toothy grin, showing his fist and his will. _

_"I can help you with that. Come with me and I promise that you will become the strongest dragon slayer there is." Ignia narrowed his eyes and grinned darkly._

_Natsu looked at him with wide eyes. That was totally unexpected. The dragon seemed more interested in getting rid of him than helping him. "I belong to Fairy Tail and they will be abl-"_

_Ignia didn't let him finish and now he was very irritated by the boy's will of staying with the humans. "That guild will slow you down. And you just said that you wanted to find Igneel didn't you? How will they help you with that? I will teach you a new form of dragon slaying magic that will make your fire even stronger and your flames will burn all." He kept staring at the boy who seemed conflicted with his own emotions and thoughts and decided to add another push to assure his win over his foster brother "Have you heard of Acnologia?" he paused and waited for a response "By the look on your face I can see you have. So you know what kind of monster he is. Let me explain something to you about our dear old dad. You see, Acnologia was a dragon slayer before his transformation into a dragon. In the Dragon King's Festival, as I'm sure you know, the dragons were slaughtered by Acnologia. He consumed dragons and so they were left in a half-dead state. When Igneel took you in, he was in the same state. His death was near and tell me, do you think he would just abandon you like that?"_

_Tears began forming in the pink haired boy's eyes, as he came to the devastating realization that his father that he was searching for, might be dead. He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't accept the thought that he might never see him again. Ignia gave a small dark chuckle at the reaction he was getting from Natsu._

_"Now you see. Igneel might as well be dead by now and who's fault is that? Acnologia killed our dad. Now, don't tell me you don't want revenge?" It's true that he himself didn't really care that his father was dead or alive, but he was perfectly using Natsu's weaknesses against him, to achieve what he came here to do._

_Natsu was filled with despair as tears streamed down his face. He breathed heavily. But soon enough, all that hopelessness was replaced by wrath and bloodlust, lust for revenge, as his mind overcame by only one desire. The desire to kill Acnologia._

_Ignia was plenty enjoying the sight and that was exactly how he wanted his brother to act. He internally praised himself for his achievement. He came forward and extended his hands "I offer you power more than you could ever imagine Natsu. Embrace it and let your flames rage and reach its true potential. I will make you into a god dragon slayer, the strongest dragon slayer of them all and with that, you will destroy Acnologia and avenge Igneel. I promise you that. Now come with me Natsu" he demanded, knowing fully that there was no way that he would be denied._

_A few minutes passed, Natsu stayed silent, thinking about the offer and all that would bring him. He didn't want to leave Fairy Tail. He loved everyone there, but... Igneel was most probably dead and the guild wouldn't help him in his quest for revenge. He didn't really like Ignia and his way of thinking truly didn't suit him but he held so much power and his strange was immense. He finally came to a decision."I'll go with you Ignia. But only because you will give me the power that I need to get to my goal. Got it?"_

_Ignia smirked in response "I expect nothing less. Don't let emotions cloud your judgment. Follow your instincts. That's all you need. Now we've wasted enough time. Let's go!"_

_"No, wait! I have to go officially quit the guild. I'll join you once I'm done here" He firmly stated. Ignia was reluctant at first but eventually gave in and with that Natsu left for the Guildhall._

Flashback end

Natsu took a deep breath, closed his eyes and shut his eyes opened, full of determination, and began walking on his newfound path.

* * *

The next morning

"WHAAATT!?"

Voices boomed from the Guildhall, the people stood in there, shell-shocked, not believing what had unveiled on them. Makarov sighed in exhaustion, not sure how to explain the situation without causing too much of a ruckus. But that was just asking too much. He made a loud coughing sound, getting everyone's attention and raised his voice "Shut up and let me finish!"

The room fell into utter silence, as they waited impatiently for their explanation. Makarov took a deep breath and prepared his words "Last night, he came to me and told me that he needed to leave the guild. He didn't tell me much except that he had found some information on his dragon and that he wanted to go explore the world. Now I know that you're all worried and confused, but I believe that he knows what he's doing and I'm confident that he will be back one day. If that's what he truly wants, who are we to hold him back." With that, he hopped off the bar where he was standing a minute ago.

He left the members in their state of confusion and some anger about not being told themselves by the person in question. They were disappointed that their friend hadn't told anyone about his departure. The children that were closest to him had all a gloomy expression on their faces as they chatted and thought of the matter at hand.

"I don't understand, why didn't he tell us anything before leaving?" Lisanna said in whispers, sad that one of her closest friends left without any warning.

"What I don't understand is that why he left at all! He could've gone look for his dad and come back afterward. He didn't need to quit the guild like that. Aahh, I don't understand this at all" Gray gripped his hair in frustration, as he was completely confused at his friend's actions.

"I have to agree with you Gray. His way of handling the situation was wrong and if something was bothering him, he should've told us. We're family." Erza stated. She went into thinking as she held her chin "Something's troubling me. We just trained together yesterday until sundown and he seemed perfectly fine then. And he's not so good at hiding his emotions, so it is possible that something happened after that."

A glimpse of hope appeared in Lisanna's eyes "So you don't think he actually wanted to leave, right?" Erza nodded, still holding onto her serious expression. Lisanna let out a small smile.

"I'm kinda worried for the kid. Maybe something bad happened that forced him into doing this." Mira suggested, thinking about different possibilities.

"Maybe we should go look for him. He couldn't have gone far if he just left last night." Levy suggested and then turned her head to face Cana "Cana, do you think your cards could tell us where he is?"

She nodded "If he's near than yes." She ran off to get her cards and came back, and dispersed them onto the table where the kids had gathered around it. They looked at her impatiently as she made her magic, trying to read her cards. "That's weird, if he was in the area then the cards would show it. Either he's not close enough, or he's masking his location"

"Wait, does he even know how to do that?" Elfman asked the group, and they just shook their heads.

"No way! He never did that before" Gray exclaimed.

Makarov noticed what the kids were doing and walked towards them. He took a look at the cards and then faced them "I want you all to stop looking for him right now!"

"But master..."

"No! When he announced his decision last night, he seemed very firm on his resolve and nothing I would've said would've changed his mind. Just have some faith in him. I'm sure he will come back once he's ready. He's family after all" He grinned on the last part. The kids looked at him before deciding to listen to their master. Then Makarov made his way to his office.

Gildarts sat by the bar, deep in his thoughts, as he taught about the words the master spoke. Something about them deeply disturbed him and he decided to confront the old man about it. He didn't even nock and barged into the master's office. Makarov didn't seem surprised by his rash actions and sat there quietly.

"What did really happen Master, and don't bring me the crap about looking for Igneel cause the Natsu I know would've shouted the news and act all excited about it. So what happened?" He demanded as he slammed his hands on the desk, gaining Makarov's attention.

"It is as I said. Or at least that's what he told me. I know he was lying about his reasons but I also know that he would've never quit the guild if he didn't really want it."

"When you were explaining it, you didn't look as convinced as the words you spoke. You say you trust his decision. I say otherwise."

Makarov sighed as he held the bridge of his nose, the whole thing was giving him a headache. " When he told me about it, he did seem determined, even if the reasons that he told me were all lies. But his eyes held darkness. That's what troubled me. I have a feeling that whatever pushed him towards the decision was the cause of this darkness. Gidarts, you have to understand that I have to believe in him. I _need_ to believe in him. That's the only thing I can do so please, let the subject go"

Gildarts wasn't satisfied with the answers he got. But the look on the old man's face told him that that was all he was going to get from him. So with a small nod of the head, he left the office. He decided to follow Makarov's words, and also believe that the boy would be fine, even if some part of him was telling him otherwise.

* * *

Elsewhere

In the deep blue skies, above the thicks clouds, a dragon soared in the air at a great speed, with a small salmon-color haired boy sitting on his back, enjoying the wind as it collided with him, taking in the joy that he once got from his father, whenever he was on his back.

The dragon was covered in crimson-colored scales, with a beige colored underbelly. The features resembled mostly the ones of Igneel, except this dragon had more caudal scales on his face, and on his head, two crystal like horns resided. Flame markings appeared on the chest of the dragon as it spread to other parts of his body.

Natsu had a strong grip on the dragon, the speed in which he flew was enough that a small loosening on his hold on him would end up with the dragon slayer being thrown off of him. He wasn't exactly looking forward to that.

They were currently flying on the way to Giltena, an unknown continent to most, but home to the fire dragon god, where Ignia was going to train Natsu. Despite Natsu putting on a smile and enjoying the ride, his mind wandered off to the power he now desired, to avenge his dad and bring Acnologia down once and for all. He didn't really trust Ignia but that didn't matter to him. His hunger for more power was taking control of him. And he was aware of it. Most importantly, he didn't fight it.

"Oi... Ignia, when will we get there?" he shouted, not even being able to hear his own voice in the current of wind.

"**Pipe down, kid. We've still got a long way to go. Go to sleep or something and stop screeching!" **he complained irritably, thinking how bothersome the kid was gonna turn out to be. He was sure he was gonna regret taking the brat with him. "**Yeah, that's it, sleep. The training I'm gonna put you through is** **gonna be worse than hell, so get the rest you need cause you're gonna need it" **Laughter boomed through the sky and Natsu just watched.

"Oh yeah, bring it on you overgrown lizard. You're training isn't gonna scare me. I bet Igneel's teachings are tougher than yours" he announced proudly, became quickly annoyed and pouted when he heard the dragon snicker.

Ignia snorted "**Whatever** **Igneel did, I'm gonna do worse. I wouldn't surprised if you drop dead from my methods. Mine is completely inhuman and well, if you do survive, I guess then you'll be considered strong by my standards**"

"You know, the way you talk makes me think you _want_ to kill me with your training. But I ain't scared of you or your methods. I will become strong and kill Acnologia" He announced, having every resolve to persevere and knowing him, he was too stubborn to give up against a challenge like this. Ignia smirked in response.

After a while, Natsu finally fell asleep after having talked with Ignia for an hour or so, and the two of them set out for their goal.

* * *

Two years have passed since Ignia and Natsu left for Giltena.

During that time, Natsu relentlessly trained in improving his dragon slaying magic. He has yet to learn the dragon god slaying magic, since the requirement for that was to finish his original magic, taught to him by Igneel.

The dragon god had pushed him to the absolute limit, almost every day, not only training him magic wise but also in terms of physical endurance. After the first year, Ignia decided to also practice with him a little sword fighting with the help of some friends, but Natsu wasn't the best at it since he much preferred fighting with his fists rather than a weapon. Ignia's training methods turned out to be quiet harsh, austere, and even cruel some might say. It was brutal, but it was all for the sake of getting stronger. At least that was what Natsu convinced himself of.

At first, the dragon slayer was a bit reluctant in following all of the dragon's orders but at the end, Ignia was able to 'persuade' him otherwise.

Ignia wanted Natsu to become ruthless in his fighting style, along with his personality. Well, one was more successful than the other one. The dragon in his coaching was shaping out Natsu's way of combat, but his character was another matter. It would be a lie to say that Natsu hadn't changed at all in that domain, but his heart still held on to all the things he had learned previously from Igneel and Fairy Tail. So the dragon decided to give it more time, but for now, concentrate on teaching the young boy his magic.

And over those two years, subconsciously, the dragon had also come to see him more as a brother that he ever thought he would. Although he was too stubborn to admit and he did try to resent the feelings, he couldn't help but appreciate the presence of the little boy. And they were technically foster brothers.

The sun gleamed in the sky, reflecting on the snow-covered ground and its heat making the snow melt and shine as tiny shards of crystals, covering the surface.

A little further, the ground started showing the tall grass, burn marks visible as well giant craters, with still smoke arising out of them.

"**Fire dragon's King Demolition Fist**" The pink haired dragon slayer charges his fists, released an incredible amount of crimson flames, in the process, destroying everything in its path, including the mountain that, once stood nearby the area. Natsu, after a little panting, he regained his breath, smirked at his achievement and looked over at Ignia, who was laying down on the snow a little farther away.

Ignia narrowed his eyes and grunted "**I could do better**" and turned his head the other way.

Natsu watched as his eyes twitched and then yelled, "Are you seriously comparing yourself to me?!"

The dragon looked at the boy from the corner of his eyes "**Yeah you're right. You're just a puny human. Why do I even bother with you?**"

"Who are you calling 'puny'?! I'll show you what I've got" Natsu announced and began gathering air in his mouth, his cheeks puffing, and with a piercing roar, "**Fire dragon's king Roar**" A stream of flames flew directly for Ignia, the dragon after seeing the flames, sighed, and countered it with his own. Natsu grimaced and gave a small 'tch', seeing that it didn't have any effect on the dragon. Guess he was expecting too much.

"**Not bad. Put a little much effort to stop it. Guess you really did master the king mode.**" he admitted.

"That's what I've been telling you for the last months you stupid dragon!" Natsu yelled in annoyance but happy that Ignia finally realized it. That meant he could move onto more serious stuff.

"**Guess it's time I teach you Dragon God slaying magic huh?**" The two of them smirked, both equally excited.

"Hey Ignia, I wanted to ask you something. How come your flames are so much darker than Igneel's? I mean, they kind of look the same as his but... something's a bit off about them" He mumbled the last part, not sure how to how to describe it.

"**Hhmm?! My flames are much more powerful than Igneel's. There is a reason we're called dragon gods you know! So anyway, as you know, one of the biggest sources of fuel for Fire is emotions. My flames are fueled by all sort of emotions. Positive and negative. Well mine, mostly dark. And you better get used to it kid, cause if you wanna master this dragon slaying magic, you'll need to keep your dark side in check cause when you lose control, bad things will happen. Mostly for anyone and anything near you.**" Ignia explained. He slightly raised his eyebrows, when he saw the confused look on Natsu's face. "**Did you get what I said?**"

Natsu nodded, "Yeah yeah, I got it. Dark side, control. Hey, your flames are pretty cool and I bet they're delicious."

"**Hey stop drooling over my fire!**" he barked at him, irritated, a tickmark appearing on his forehead. "**Okay, let's start right now, let's see how you fair. Eat up**" He shooted fire onto the ground, the whole area began engulfing in flames. As soon as that happened, Natsu ran towards it and started eating to the last bit of fire.

"That was nice, and they were pretty good. This fire, it tastes like Igneel's. I feel the power rising." Natsu announced as the fire began emerging from every ounce of his body. Dark red scales formed on his parts of his body, his eyes beginning to glow in crimson light, and suddenly, he fell to the ground panting, dark patterns began rising from his hands, and soon enough, his body fell into deep obscurity, plunging in it. He felt like the power was suffocating him.

Natsu grunted and let out low growls, and then, roared ferociously, flames began shooting from his body, burning the entire area. He thrashed around, clutching his head in pain, while the darkness circled around him.

"**That's what you get for eating my flames without listening to my explanation. Now, you will drown in your own abyss**" Ignia said in a rather low tone, then he sat down and watched as the dragon slayer became overwhelmed by the fire and his own magic. The rest of the day passed with Natsu struggling and going on a rampage.

Two days later, Natsu woke up, feeling like his head was about to explode. He sat up, brushing away the sweat that had formed on his brows, looking around, and frowning when he saw the smug look on Ignia's face. He noticed that the dragon had transformed into his human form and that they were both in a cave. He wanted to retort but fatigue plundered his body. There was almost no magic left in him, and his vision was still a little blurry. Then. he remembered what had previously happened before he had collapsed from magical exhaustion.

"Did you like my fire?"

Still holding onto his head, he hissed at the dragon "That was hell."

Ignia laughed a little before grinning "Good to know, cause you're going back"

Natsu's eyes shot open, gulping as he thought back to all the feeling of pain and despair that had overcome his body the moment he had absorbed the flames. "You're kidding, right? I have to go through that _again_?"

"Yep, again and again, and again. Until you get control over that darkness. I've never taught anyone before so I have no idea how long it's gonna take you to master that." He started snickering when he saw Natsu lose all color from his face.

Natsu clenched his jaw as well as his fists and got up "I'll do it. I won't let my own power gain control over me. I will learn to handle them." he then turned his head towards Ignia and declared "Let's do it again. Summon your flames" he demanded.

Ignia snorted "Yeah, no. That's not happening. You're out of magic and that will only kill you. As much as it was seeing you go berserk, it's a pain to make sure you don't die in the process. We'll give it a few days before trying that again." As much as he wanted to propose him, Natsu couldn't deny the fact that he was completely exhausted and the pain in his head wasn't helping anyone.

"Even so, that doesn't mean you get to rest. We'll go practice your sword fighting. And I've gotta little mission for you." He grinned darkly. Natsu's expression remained neutral as he followed Ignia out of the cave.

On the way, Ignia entered deep thought as he walked. '_God Dragon slaying will change him. He can't deny the darkness any longer. Not with this power. This is just another step until he becomes what he truly is. A destroyer of all.'_

* * *

**Sorry for not making it a very long chapter. So I kinda changed some personalities like Ignia's. Not that I know much about him, but I thought it would be fun for Natsu to learn this magic.**

** Well, the next one is probably gonna be more concentrated on Fairy Tail Mages. **

**T****ill next chapter. and sorry for any grammatical mistakes.**


	3. Resurface

**Resurface**

* * *

Years have passed since the dragon slayer left Fairy Tail. And yet, he never truly forgot about them. Somewhere in his mind, those memories and the things he learned there stayed with him. The teachings of Igneel never left him, nor did his principals. Most of them. With the Fire Dragon God, he evolved into someone he never thought he would become. Despite all, his heart still blackened, little by little. The power he inquired turned his aura dark. The flames he once inherited by Igneel, now just filled a small part of his body.

He has mastered the Dragon God Slaying magic for most parts. Not completely, but enough to use it proficiently and still progressed with each passing day.

However, dark does not define evil. That's what he told himself when accepting the darkness in him. He thought hard and still fighting, to not let power, blind his vision and purpose. He held in mind all that he had learned in the past. When you think about it, he didn't change much.

But that did not stop him from committing monstrous acts. Atrocious in his own book. He convinced himself that they were necessary. But not all actions can be justified with words or even goals. He was still self-conscious about them and tried his best to not be influenced by his magic and the ones surrounding him. But sometimes, it was inevitable.

Natsu walked past the blooming flowers of the magnificent garden. A place filled with life, beauty, and harmony, and on top of a small hill, a temple resided. He walked through the garden in the temple's direction. The dragon slayer wore slightly baggy pants colored in a crimson shade, black combat boots, along with a sleeveless black shirt. His white scaled scarf wrapped around his neck and he also had a sword coated with dragon insignias attached to his belt.

When he finally reached the temple, he walked inside to find a young woman standing, waiting for him to get closer. And so he did. He was now a few feet away from her and he bowed his head in respect.

"Raise your head Natsu" she voiced softly and giving him a genuine smile.

In front of him, a petite beautiful woman stood, brown-haired, with two golden horns, with symbols in turquoise coating them. She had two wings sprouting from her back, white wings embellished in gold on the tips of it. A gold tail was apparent from her back, also trimmed with fine turquoise patterns. She wore a white, simple dress and the rest of her body was coated with golden and blue colored dragon patterns and her body was ornamented by different significant pieces of tribular and totemic jewelry, each holding its own value and meaning.

"My Lady" he straightened and looked at her, his expression remaining blank.

"No need to be so formal Natsu." she starred for a few more seconds before starting walking towards him "I know why you're here Natsu. I thank you for doing what of I asked of you. I am truly grateful" she extended her hand and placed it on one of his cheeks. It was a warm and yet cold feeling he got from her. She didn't have a temperature but everything about her was welcoming.

"I'm not only doing it for you. I will bring the dragon here. I will not fail you" he said in a serious tone, making the girl slightly chuckled.

"I know you won't"

* * *

**The Pergrande Kingdom, Year X784**

The sun beamed on the lands and mountains, the river sparkling in its bright light, passing nearby the towering and majestic walls. It was a peaceful morning as the sound of wind blowing over the tall grasses filled the air and making the blossoms dance in the breeze. The area was enveloped by mountains and fields, all surround the giant walls of the old castle. The fortress was grand and sumptuous, making anyone dream of living there.

However, this magnificent scenery was nothing more than a mere facade.

Behind those walls, darkness lurked. Deep inside the fortress dungeons, bound by chains, a small but fearsome beast roared. They were cries of suffering, of help, of desperation. One that would make anyone pity the poor creature, regardless of how it looked. The howls continued while two men walked down the obscure hallways leading to the far end of the castle.

"Why won't it shut up?!" a man wearing a soldier's uniform yelled, irritated by the constant sound filling the castle walls.

"Guess it's scared" the other soldier walking right next to him shrugged. "Pathetic when you think about it. Dragons are supposed to be the mightiest of them all, and what do we get, a weakling that endlessly pleas for help. But then again, it is still only a newborn so we shouldn't expect much."

The other gave off a wicked grin "To think that soon enough, the King will wield the power of a dragon...All countries will have no choice but to bow to us. We'll be the most powerful there is." he expressed excitedly, just thinking about it made him feel proud of being part of this nation.

The Pergrande Kingdom is a very vast and powerful country, governed by the Royal Family. Although the kingdom is not as well known for its magical community as it is Fiore, it's military power is beyond dominant compared to others. Magic is still present in everyday life but perhaps not as much as it would be in southern countries of Ishgar. In this country, magic is very much used in everything involving the military and magical weaponry. The King although being a strong and fearsome ruler does not rule by unfairness and the people of the country leave in peace and harmony. Or at least that's what it's made out to be.

In the royal palace, a large rectangular table was placed inside a spacious room, where the King, along with his generals sat and discussed the matters involving the country.

The King was a tall, muscular man, his body covered by armor plates. The skin that showed through his clothing were littered in scars, displaying symbols of his battles and he wore then in pride. He sat on his throne, bearing a serious expression, while impatiently tapping his fingers on the table, waiting for the person who summoned this meeting to speak.

A man resembling more a commoner than a member of the court stood up and bowed his head at the king, showing respect and getting approval to speak "Your Majesty, forgive me to have disturbed you in such manner-"

"Get on to it!" The ruler intervened, not having the time to listen to blabbers, nor the patience.

"Yes, sir. I came back from the mission assigned to me yesterday and I come bearing news. While on my travels, I heard disturbing news in neighboring nations, having become aware of us possessing a dragon..." he gulped and shivered when he saw the outraged King, who looked like he could explode right about now. He then resumed his report "They are growing wary of us and have their suspicions of us having the desire to declare war on them. When I heard about it, I decided to pry further in search of more valuable information. All I found was that they are willing to take action against us. They _will_ try to stop us." he stated firmly.

The previously angered king calmed down and leaned back on his chair, and smirked "Let them try. All those who defy us will fall. If they declare war then they shall pay the price. Is that all?"

"Yes your majesty"

"As always, your place here is most appreciated. You're dismissed" he ordered and so, the man quietly left the room.

Whispers echoed through the place, discussing what they had just learned from the spy.

"My King, I feel that we should consider this as an act of war. They will defy us just because we will soon have a weapon they stand no chance against. That is no excuse to just intervene in another country's affairs" s short old man stated. He was an adviser to the court along with others.

The King let out a deep breath, pulled back the chair and stood up while placing his hands on the table "Whoever attempts to will be punished accordingly and they will be faced with the wrath of Pergrande. This matter is closed...Now, how is the dragon progressing so far?"

* * *

In Magnolia, as the moon had started to light the dark skies, the shops were calling it a day and the streets were slowly calming down. Silence pretty soon took over the town. Well, except for the far end of Magnolia.

Fairy Tail was as rowdy as ever. The members were busy talking, drinking, laughing...

As the hours went by the guild started to slowly lose its crowd and so it had become much calmer.

Gray, Erza, Lucy and Wendy were sitting at a table along with the two exceeds and each was busy doing their own thing. Erza and Lucy were both polishing one her armor and the other her keys. Gray busied himself with his book while Wendy talked to Carla. Happy had fallen asleep on the table, and sometimes between his breaths mumbled something about fish. Carla sighed and Wendy giggled at the blue exceed's antics.

Gray glanced around the guild when a realization hit him "Guys, have you seen Gramps around?"

" Now that I think about it, I haven't seen him at all today" she starting thinking about the last time she saw the master.

Erza peaked onto the conversation they were having and replied "He went to a council meeting today and he went to his office right after he returned. He seemed troubled but I wasn't going to pry. He will tell us if something was wrong" she then went back to what she was previously doing.

A while passed and Makarov finally descended down the stairs with a distressed look on his face. He walked towards the mages seated at the table.

"Hi Master," Erza started but frowned when she noticed his expression "Master is something the matter?" she asked concerned and a little bit worried about the answer she was going to get.

He sighed "Yes actually, while we were at the meeting, disturbing news was revealed to us. Before it gets out of hand, the magic council and the King himself have requested help from guilds. They put it up as an S-class quest." He asked them to follow him to his office. Besides them, Juvia and Gajeel were also in the room, with the dragon slayer having his arms crossed, slightly annoyed for having to wait for them. The mages stood in front of his desk while Makarov went behind it and took out a piece of paper.

"The request is optional and it's far too dangerous to be an absolute order coming from above. Under normal circumstances, I would've asked Gildarts to complete the task but he has yet to come back from his century quest. I want to send your team on this mission. But of course, you have every right to refuse as it is a dangerous task and one that will require much of you. However, I will let you in on the details of the mission before you make any decisions."

He held the request sheet in hand as he started explaining "As you all know, Pergrande is a kingdom known for being one of the strongest in Ishgar. The council has recently found out that the kingdom was somehow able to obtain a dragon in its ranks."

That information shocked all of them but the two dragon slayers were especially affected by the news. Wendy and Gajeel have both at some point tried to find their missing parent but none were successful. They had wandered many times where they were. They became worried just thinking that one of the dragons they knew might have been captured.

Makarov furrowed when he saw Wendy and even Gajeel become distressed by what they heard and he didn't blame them. "This has many nations concerned because even though the country hadn't been in wars over the past decade, they are not on good term relations with the other countries either. Many countries including our own sees this as an ultimate weapon to be used against them. They fear it. Therefore they asked of us guilds for help."

He looked over at the mages waiting for an explanation from him and so he resumed "The mission consists of killing the dragon."

Wendy appalled at those words while Gajeel kept a neutral face but he was still bothered about that. They all were. Killing a dragon is no simple task, and it was going to be harder considering it was located in country parallel to their own and that it was going to be protected by a whole military force.

"You see, the dragon is still young and they have found out that he isn't under the kingdom's control yet. So the other nations want it destroyed before it's too late."

Wendy held a hand over her mouth in shock and horror.

"How can they do such a thing?! They're going to corrupt a baby dragon for their own selfish purposes. It's horrible "Lucy uttered, angry and sad for the poor beast. The dragon was held captive against his will and will later be used as a weapon. The very thought of it made Lucy sick to the stomach. And she wasn't the only one.

"I won't force you to but will you please consider taking on this quest. However, if you decide to take the mission, we're going to alter the request a little bit. Instead of killing it, I want you to save the dragon and free him from Pergrande's grasp."

The statement came as a shock to everyone in the room. The dragon was innocent but how were they supposed to save him? They weren't sure if it was easier to just kill the beast or rather save it. The second one seemed more appealing to everyone even if it was going to be harder to achieve.

"Gramps, you're asking us to defy Council's orders?" Gray asked curiously. He wasn't against it, actually, he was very much for it, but defying the council never ended well.

"That's exactly what I'm asking of you. That dragon is more than probable innocent and being still young it can be saved before being corrupted by that Kingdom with whatever power they hold"

Gajeel let out a smirk. Just the fact of seeing a dragon again was enough to convince him and get his blood pumping "I'm in." Makarov nodded in acknowledgment.

"Me too! I want to save the dragon and I will do anything to make sure of that" Wendy stated determinedly.

"We will also accept the request" Erza stated keeping a rather serious and neutral expression as always.

All the mages agreed to go on this mission. They got the rest of the detail from Makarov. They were to save the dragon and disobey the council. Not that it was abnormal. They were used to it so it didn't really bother them to do it again. Most would think that Fairy Tail did all it did on purpose just to get on the council's nerves. They decided to meet up the next day, which gave them the time to prepare and pack the necessities for this long mission. It was going to be a long journey to the Pergrande kingdom, and somehow, they were all excited for it but also worried for what might happen during this mission.

The next day, the group of Fairy Tail mages set their path to Pergrande. The trip was going to be a long one. They would have to first pass through Bosco and from there they would go to Iceberg and then cross the borders to Pergrande. One of the difficulties of this mission was to stay undetected since if anyone realizes what they came there to do, it would be considered an act of war and that was something they wanted to avoid at all cost. So they hid well their Fairy Tail insignia and tried to keep it low throughout the mission.

It took them two weeks in total to arrive at the capital city of Pergrande. The road was long but fortunately for them, transportation was present most of the places they crossed. Well...fortunately for most of them. Even Wendy at some point started to feel motion sickness due to the constant vehicle rides. Some of the places they had to travel on foot but luckily, they finally arrived at their destination.

They were currently sitting in a restaurant In Pergrande's capital city, where they decided to take a short break and replenish before advancing further.

"Oi Ice-freak quit stripping you pervert! The whole point was to stay unnoticed you idiot" He yelled at him all the while glaring at whoever looked their way, making them immediately avert their eyes, terrified by the dragon slayer.

"Crap! When did that happen?!" startled, he looked around for his missing pieces of clothing. Both received a punch to the head by the scarlet mage "Gajeel's right. We are to stay undetected"

"So why'd you hit me?!" Gajeel snapped at her while massaging his head.

"You were being loud and disturbing this place's peace. Stop terrorizing the citizens" Erza answered back.

"Juvia thinks Gray should just stay the way he is"

"Let go of me!" Gary yelled, trying to get Juvia off of her.

Lucy wasn't sure she wanted to intervene in their little discussion, "I think it's a bit too late for that. You guys are making a scene" she mumbled to herself, making Wendy who was sitting next to her giggle at their antics.

"These fools! They can't do a single job right" Carla sighed and then turned back to see Happy stuffing his face with fish while Lily ate his food quietly next to him.

"I'll be surprised if we get to the castle still undercover" Lucy starred at Gray, Gajeel and Erza arguing with each other.

"Aye,"

After having paused for their meal and a few broken furnitures, they left the city in the direction of the castle, where their objectives resided.

It was a beautiful and blissful scenery. The tall walls were so grand and welcoming. It was not what they expected. Nevertheless, they didn't let this distract them. Now, they needed some way to infiltrate the place. This place was a military fortress notheless and that matter should not be neglected. The royal castle was sepertaed form this miltary base, where they had decided to locj up the dangerous creature.

"So this is it huh?" Gray looked at the giant walls, trying to figure out a way to get in.

"The soldiers we interrogated told us they were keeping the dragon locked up in the dungeons. If we take into account this information, then we just have to go to the dungeons and we have to expect a very performance security system." Erza frowned. This is where the hard part commences. They would have to come up with a full proof plan so they won't risk being discovered.

"I say we just bust in and beat the crap out of anyone who fights up, geehee" Gajeel grinned crazy, making the others sweatdrop at his way of action.

Erza stepped forward and coughed to get everybody's attention "I have come up with a plan. Unfortunately, we aren't able to do much against an entire army. We will split into two groups. One will serve as a distraction, as for the other will go after the dragon. Regrettably, we will have to cause some sort of commotion in order for the rescue team to get in. Now that part will be the simplest in our task. The hard part is going to be getting the dragon out of this fortress which will be far from easy. Lucy, the exceeds and the dragon slayers, you go look for the dragon while us rest will serve as a distraction. You have to stay undetected no matter what. It's a crucial part of our mission."

They all nodded in acknowledgment. So they made their way to the front gates of the fortress.

All of a sudden, both Wendy and Gajeel's expression turned into one of disgust. "This place reeks of blood. What the hell?" he retained a hand on his nose, trying to cut out the disturbing smell coming from behind the gates.

"Blood?" Lucy voiced worriedly. This mission was just getting better and better with every second. But they didn't have a choice. They had to save that beast. Too much was at stake here.

"We cannot worry about it right now. Gray, Juvia, and I will go first and as for you guys, you'll be right behind us. You will try to find a way, leading to the dungeons." Erza stated firmly, as she, Gray and Juvia got into a fighting stance.

Gray walked forward and started summoning his magic. With a large blast, he froze the gates and then shattered it. The three mages ran, expecting an army or guards awaiting them on the other side, but froze on the spot when they saw what resided behind those walls.

In the area located in front of the doors leading to the main building, small fires were spread across the area, burning the grass and the trees, as well as scorching the stone walls. Bodies were scattered on the ground, burned and heavily wounded, blood staining the stone pathway and the garden. It was a horrifying sight to behold. The two groups stood in front of the slaughter that had taken place and now questions were overflowing their minds about who could have done this.

"Looks like we don't need a distraction anymore" Gray muttered, trying hard not to gag at this sickening scene.

"The people who did this are strong and apparently have reasons to be enemies with the Kingdom," Juvia said, averting her sight from the eyesore.

"Maybe they're here for the same reasons as we are," Wendy said, a little hint of hope visible in her voice, holding Carla tightly against her, upset by this whole situation.

"But that means unlike us, they will be trying to kill the dragon" Lucy realized, their goal had somewhat things in common but was very different at the same time.

"Tch" Gajeel gritted his teeth in frustration. Now they had two enemies to defeat. "The blood is fresh. The people who did this are still probably here for whatever reasons"

This was going in a very unpleasant way. They were suddenly interrupted when a group of soldiers, along with another tall armored man, seemingly commander of the unit judged by his attire, came out of the building. The soldiers seemed scared and nervous, almost like they wanted to run more than fight, which seemed a little odd considering their job.

"You won't go any further. This will end right here and now." The commander announced loud enough for the mages across to hear and motioned for his army to advance and fight.

The soldiers still seemed a little hesitant. One of them turned to face the commander "Sir if these people are in collaboration with that other guy then we don't stand a chance" he said worriedly, hoping the leader would see some sense in what he was saying.

"How dare you all disobey orders. You _will_ fight." He glared darkly, leaving no room for discussion.

"You've gotta be shiting me..." he whispered but loud enough to be heard by his fellow mages.

"What is it Gajeel?" Juvia asked curiously.

"One guy did this. One guy wiped out an entire army," he said, startling everyone standing there. They couldn't understand how one person could defeat all of them and by the looks of it in ease. It had the soldiers of the toughest kingdom so this was just bad news for them.

"This is turning out to be quite bothersome" Lily frowned, not liking where this was going.

Erza frowned. Although what they just learned was troubling, this wasn't the time to hesitate or back down. She turned towards the mages and stated firmly "We will go as planned. We'll take care of this while you go to the dungeons."

"Good luck you guys" Wendy smiled as she waved her hand, before running behind the rest of her group.

Lucy ran behind Gajeel, glancing at the mages now attacking the soldiers worriedly, _'I have faith in you guys. Please just stay safe.'_

Juvia, Gray, and Erza fought off the soldiers attacking them, all the while letting the others escape. While Gray and Juvia fought the guards, the armored mage headed straight for the commander and their swords clashed.

"You and your friends have made a mistake by attacking this place. This is one of the most heavily armed fortresses and now, you will see for your self what happens when we are defied."

From above the building, some sort of cannons were directed straight for them. Before they could comprehend what was happening, it fired at them, taking them and the soldiers by surprise.

The commander smirked at his accomplishment. "This was too easy. I must admit they have courage for just coming to this place"

As the dust settled, it revealed the scarlet mage in her Adamantine Armor, standing above her comrades in a protective stance, holding the combined shields together while forming a powerful magic barrier.

The leader starred in shock, not comprehending how someone could withstand those cannons. He then regained his composure and motioned for several other canons to be fired at them. But the result was the same.

"You're wasting your time. This armor can withstand more powerful hits than this." Erza explained, which just made the armored man angry.

Gray, outraged started yelling at him "How could you attack your own soldiers?! They trusted you!" he glared angrily at him, which he just shrugged off.

"I will do whatever necessary to ensure our victory. They know that as well."

"That's no excuse you bastard. That's people's lives you were sacrificing" Gray continued yelling in anger.

The commander equipped a large sword in hand and readied it as he took it upon himself to defeat the intruders. Magic leaked out of his weapon, powering his sword and with just one swipe, magical waves were shot towards them. Each used a defensive spell to shrug off the attack but it went on.

* * *

The three mages along with the exceeds ran down the dark stairs leading to the dungeon.

"Guys I have a bad feeling about this" Happy mumbled as he flew next to Lucy. She looked over at the concerned exceed. He was right to be worried. More guards could be waiting for them down there and not to mention whoever beat up the soldiers that they saw.

"We have to focus getting the dragon out. That's all that matters" Lily said, earning nods from the fellow mages and exceeds.

"How exactly _are_ we getting the dragon out?" Lucy looked over at the others, who seemed just as clueless about that part of the plan as she was.

"We'll figure it out when we get to it" Gajeel stated. He then saw how worried and troubled Wendy was and approached her; He shuffled her hair "Don't worry kiddo. We'll save that dragon and get out of here." She smiled hopefully at him. She wasn't too convinced but she had to believe. And she was willing to do anything to save him.

They stopped when they reached a large door. It seemed that all seals protecting the other side had been completely broken and so were the traps surrounding where they were standing. Gajeel pushed the door open, and behind it was another hallway. But at the far end of it, a figure stood before two other gates sealed by chains and spells.

He tilted his head and from the corner of his eye saw the group of mages stumbling towards him. He ignored them and set his sight back on the doors.

"Wait please!" Wendy shouted while running towards him, hoping that he would actually listen.

The pink-haired boy shot a light glare at them, now irritated that some other people have come to stop him. This was starting to get on his nerves.

Wendy arrived right in front of him, first trying to regain her breath but then looked at him with pleading eyes "Please, don't kill the dragon."

He raised an eyebrow in surprise and confusion. He was interrupted from his thoughts when an iron club hit him in the jaw. He stumbled back a bit and wiped out the blood coming out of his mouth and the two went into a glaring contest.

The aura surrounding the pink-haired boy was dark, and something about it was unwelcoming. And the hostile look Gajeel was getting from him wasn't helping it.

Natsu focused on the spiked haired man before him. He already figured out he was a dragon slayer along with the blue haired girl. He completely forgot what the little girl had told him and focused on one thing. If they were going to stop him then he will defeat them like any other.

"Don't get in my way," he said, warning clear in his voice and once again turn around to go do what he came here for.

"Not happening" Gajeel lunged forward and aimed his iron club for another hit but Natsu swiftly dodged that. He once again tried to land strikes on him but all effort was futile.

"If you're going to be this persistent, then I'll strike you down," he said as he looked at the other dragon slayer glaring daggers at him. Natsu began summoning his fire.

They all looked at him in pure horror as they felt the magic power emitting from him. The radiation was so high that it made them nauseous just from being around him. Lucy looked at him terrified, frozen as she looked in astonishment at the flames encircling his body. The fire raged around him, reflecting his fury and his intentions, which were filled with darkness only directed at them.

Wendy who was the closest to him trembled in fear, horror visible in her expression. Both her and Lucy had appalled at the sight. What terrified them was remembering the state they found the soldiers in. They were brutally beaten for just getting in his way. And that was exactly what they were doing. Lucy glanced at Gajeel who had gotten into a fighting stance, alongside him Lily doing the same. She and Wendy held the two exceeds close, who had also been shocked by the mere presence of that person.

Lucy watched as Gajeel lurched forward with Lily, who had his giant sword in hand and began to attack him while coordinating their attacks. They were so close on landing a hit on him but each time he just shrugged them off.

Natsu raged at the thought of being interrupted again. He was furious at whoever people these were. While ignoring Gajeel, he took out his sword and clashed it with Lily's, but the sheer force he had put in his weapon completely shattered the latter's. With a kick engulfed in fire, he sent the exceed flying into a wall, slamming him into unconsciousness.

"Lily!" Gajeel yelled, looking over at the crater created by Lily as he was crashed into the wall. He averted his eyes back at the pink-haired boy and shot him a dark glare, insinuating he was going to pay for that.

Lucy had finally snapped herself out of the trance she found herself in upon witnessing his power, and also got into a fighting stance."**Open, Gate of the Lion, Leo**" with a flash of light, Loke/Leo appeared out of thin air. His smile suddenly turned into a frown of both surprise and disturbance. "What the hell?" he whispered to himself. "What the hell is he?" he turned around to face Lucy, "I wish I knew". She took out her weep and motioned for Leo to fight alongside her. They were stopped when Gajeel told them to stay out of his fight. He insisted he wanted to beat him by his self. He saw what happened with Lily and they were only going to get in his way.

"This guy ain't messing around." he panted as he was now dodging hits from him. It was terrifying how string he was and being enemies with him was certainly not good news. He was already pissed off and Gajeel knew if any other intervened, his rage will only grow.

"**Fire dragon's Iron fist"**

Gajeel's eyes widened in shock when he realized what he was "You've gotta be kidding me! He's a dragon slayer? Dammit! This just keeps getting better and better" he muttered while informing the others, who their fear just grew by hearing the statement. In the moment of distraction, Gajeel noticed the fists engulfed in fire heading straight for him, extended his arms, holding them in a protective stance, and was utterly surprised to have been burned even though his limb was coated with iron. He held his arms, stinging by the burns he just got.

Wendy was surprised at the fact that he too was a dragon slayer. Somehow, despite her situation, she was happy to have met another since maybe he could help her find Grandeeney. But she was scared because dragon slayers are powerful and that only meant that his flames were going to be stronger than average and mostly more troublesome for them. She then focused back onto the fight. Her expression turned into pure horror when she saw Gajeel getting continuously thrown around in ease, accumulating burns and injuries, blood starting tickling down the surface of his skin.

Gajeel panted in exhaustion, pain filling his entire body, as he felt his muscles giving out. He was fighting it as much as he could but he was no longer sure how much longer he would be able to stand. He watched as the pink haired dragon slayer took his steps towards him, and feared for the worse. He wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of being intimidated by him. He stood up, still panting, while holding his worse injuries. He was about to turn his arm into iron again but was stopped when Natsu grabbed him by his throat and held him in the air. He felt air slowly leaving his lungs as he clawed Natsu's hands in hopes of being released. But that just resulted in the hands around his throat tighten. He looked into his eyes, and all he could see were, rage, bloodlust and yet, Natsu's expression remained indiffrent. Just when his eyes were starting to roll to the back and lose all consciousness. he was freed when his opponent was attacked by Leo.

Both Lucy and Leo had decided to intervene despite Gajeel's demands, which no longer stood since he was about to die by his hands. While Leo attacked, Lucy used the distraction to get behind him, however, that quickly changed when Natsu threw Leo into her, causing both of them to fall back and hit the ground.

He began walking towards them with every intention of ending what he had started but he quickly turned around to see the black-haired man standing and stumbling towards him. "You just can't stay down can you?" he hissed at him as he averted all his attention once again towards him. He lunged towards him, pinned him to the floor, and took out his sword.

"If you won't stay down then I will put you down" he stared at him with such ferocity, Gajeel feeling fear welding up inside him, thinking that that's how he will go out.

They all stared in horror as they realized what he was about to do.

"GAJEEL!"

They ran towards him but when they did, it was already too late. He pointed the tip of his sword at the grounded dragon slayer, and with one swift thrust, pierced into his stomach, making Gajeel let out a shriek of pain.

A pool of blood started forming around Gajeel as he coughed up blood while holding is a deep wound. His sight had begun to become blurry and he felt all strength leave his body.

Natsu got off of him and stood next to his body, frowning at his work. He didn't forcibly enjoy taking lives but he would whatever necessary to reach his goals. And in this case, not resided behind those doors who these mages had tried to stop him from getting there. He looked at them with a blank expression, daring them to attack him.

Tears streamed down Wendy's face, she ran towards the injured man and kneeled next to him, and started working her magic. She used every bit of magic she had and put all of her focus on healing him.

Meanwhile, Carla went to join Wendy by her side all the while glancing at the man who just defeated their teammate.

"How could you?! You could have just let him go or knocked him out, you didn't need to kill him" Lucy yelled at him in despairing and anger, but fear took over her as their eyes met. She felt as if those onyx eyes pierced through her soul and the fear was soon replaced with despair. The same fate awaited them and she knew she didn't have enough strength to defeat this man. They didn't stand a chance against him from the beginning and if they had just stayed quiet and done nothing, none of this would have happened. But that was not how Fairy Tail acted. They fought for what they believed in and that was one of the things that anyone would recognize when meeting one of the mages.

What caught them all by surprise was that contrary to their expectations, the man turned around and started walking towards the doors where the dragon was being kept. They looked at him as he walked off but all their attentions were suddenly turned to the sound of footsteps coming towards them at a fast pace.

Lucy, Happy, Carla and Wendy all smiled and hope began reemerging through them when they saw Gray, Erza and Juvia running towards them. This meant they had defeated the soldiers and the commander. They sighed in relief and smiled at them as they approached.

Natsu, on the other hand, had caught onto the familiar scent. He slightly turned around to see the three mages running towards them, and his eyes shot open, shock and disbelief took over him as he saw faces who he hadn't seen for a long time resurface. He looked at them, eyes widened and whispered "Gray...Erza..."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter**.

**Some of you guys asked about the pairings. I'm really not too sure about that. I was thinking of doing a Nalu fic but it might turn into a harem. It's not highly probable but still possible. The romantic stiff won't be happening until later on in the story. **

**Thanks again for the reviews.**


	4. Homecoming

**hEY, So I'm back with another chapter.**

**The story right now will be in the timeline right before S-class exams.The pairings are gonna be either Naza or Natsu x OC, and it's not gonna be any real relationship till later on. I am not doing a harem. Sorry if it disappoints some of you but I'm not that good of a writer and harems don't interest me, at least writing-wise.**

**I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

** Homecoming**

* * *

"Gray...Erza..."

The temperature rose as they got closer to the group of mages. It was so high it was almost suffocating and had become very hard to breathe. Erza, Gray, and Juvia ran until they reached the mages, and worry and concern replaced the feeling of relief they had gotten from seeing their friends from afar.

An injured and bloody Gajeel laid motionless on the ground, his eyes barely open, looked at them and felt relief. Maybe now they had a chance of defeating that monster, but he was still doubtful of it.

A teary Wendy didn't look away from Gajeel, still very much focused on healing him. "I'm trying my best to heal him but I don't know if I'll be able to..." she started sobbing, scorning herself for not being able to do more, for just standing there when Gajeel and the others were fighting.

Erza looked around and felt reassured to see the others weren't in half as bad condition as Gajeel was in. Now what bothered her was whatever put him in that state. Gajeel was nearly as strong as an S-class mage and defeating him is no small task which got her now questioning the strength of their enemy that they would have to face.

After a few minutes, Natsu recovered from his state of shock and regain composure, now frowning at what he had gotten himself into. He knew they would demand some sort of explanation. Not to mention he had to face the wrath of two old friends and honestly that part sort of scared him. He had already decided he would let them get their anger out on him but this wasn't the right time. Plus, what explanation would he give them? He came here to save the dragon and these people tried to stop him, no matter who they were, they would've had to pay for that. He had to admit he went a little too far there but still, they tried to get between him and his goals, and it's not like he didn't give them the chance to back down. Natsu tried to convince himself of these justifications. He finally snapped himself out of his thoughts and decided to leave them for the time being and go to the dragon. Of course, he knew there was no escaping from those two but for now, he had more urgent matters to attend to. So, with a final glance at the mages, turned around and used his sword to break whatever stood in his way. He then disappeared behind the doors.

"How did this happen?" Erza demanded and she and the rest of her group walked closer to Gajeel and looked at everyone for an explanation of some sort.

Happy flew towards her, still a little frightened "This guy was terrifying. He beat Gajeel so easily. And then, he tried to kill him. He was super strong" his mind wandered off elsewhere as images of the fight, reappeared.

Lucy looked away while keeping her head down, feeling ashamed and still distressed over what just happened "He was really strong Erza. When we came down here, Gajeel attacked him and well, at first he was able to hold his own but then it just turned into a one-sided beating. I couldn't do anything but watch. The power he had, and his aura, they were both so terrifying. He was also a dragon slayer and a strong one at that. He uses fire magic and wields a sword. That's really all we got from meeting him."

"That bastard was holding back" They all looked at Gajeel who mumbled something between his breaths, gasping for air. He then started coughing up blood, which just showed how serious his wounds were.

"Stop talking Gajeel. I'm almost done healing the fatal wounds but you can't push yourself," she said, ignoring the fatigue and the magical exhaustion she was beginning to feel.

"Don't push yourself so much, child" Carla put a hand on her arm.

"I can't Carla. I have to save him. I won't let him die just because I'm weak" she gritted her teeth as a sense of self-loathing became clear in her words and expression.

Erza put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile "You're not weak Wendy. We all have faith in you." Wendy smiled back, now concentrating back on her healing.

Gray then thought back at what Gajeel just said "Wait, you said he was holding back and he was this strong? Damn this just complicates things."

Lucy nodded, feeling still down from the fight. However, this wasn't the time to give up. They had a task to complete and they weren't about to back down. They were all glad that Gajeel's wounds weren't irreparable but now they had to concentrate before reinforcements arrived and made their mission even more difficult than what it already was.

"He went through those doors. I'm guessing that's where the dragon is kept." Lucy pointed in the same direction where Natsu went. She glanced back at Wendy who had finally stopped healing him and looked about to pass out. Gajeel was already unconscious but his previously pale skin had regained some color and looked like he was resting from the strain put on his body.

"Wendy you should lie down. You overexerted herself" Juvia said and kneeled next to her while helping her onto a more comfortable sleeping position. She pushed her back "No! I wasn't able to do anything before but now, I'm gonna fight-"

"Don't be foolish. You don't have any magic left in you" Carla protested.

The dragon slayer looked down and clenched her fists "I know. But I want to help the dragon. Please let me come with you guys" she pleaded.

Carla was about to argue back when Erza began speaking "Fine but you will not fight. You're clearly exhausted but I think you will be a great help in what concerns the dragon. You're the only one of us have met one before besides Gajeel. So you can come" Wendy smiled as Juvia helped her up.

Erza then turned her gaze at the two exceeds "I want you two to guard over Gajeel and Lily. If anyone else comes, immediately warn us."

"Aye Sir" Happy raised a paw, and Carla despite wanting to stay with Wendy, nodded in confirmation.

Meanwhile, Natsu walked into an obscure and cryptic area and followed where the chains splattered on the ground led him. As he advanced, the inhuman scent became more and more apparent to him.

As he approached, a midnight blue color glowed from the end of the cell. Dark blue eyes stared directly at him, and all Natsu could see in those eyes were fear, pain, and hatred for the humankind. When he got closer, the chains on the ground started moving and then when in the depth of the darkness, he saw a small dragon, still big enough to tower over him, backed into a corner, staring at him in fear.

Anger boiled inside Natsu when he started thinking about all the pain that these people have afflicted on the dragon, what they had done to the poor beast to make him cower just by the mere sight of a human. It disgusted him that people like this were able to get their hands on a dragon and an innocent one at that.

He closed the distance between them and so he was able to get a clear view of the beast. The dragon was covered with slender black colored except for the wings, horns and the tip of his tail with were painted midnight colored blue, on his wings, little white dots appearing like stars in a night sky. The dragon was female and was still very young. Young enough to be still in the care of her mother, which he guessed was dead.

He got close enough to put a hand on his neck, which made her flinch slightly but remained still, obedient as the humans would say. He was expecting some kind of retaliation but nothing happened which made him furrow even more.

"I'm here to bring you home. I promise, I won't let anyone else hurt you" He then realized that the dragon had never been taught proper language so speaking to her was futile. He caressed her scales, trying to give her some kind of reassuring sensation so that he could gain her trust.

The dragon seemingly slightly calmed down, and brought her head down, getting it closer to Natsu as she took in his scent. He patted her muzzle and understood that the fact that he had dragon scent all over him must've reassured her. He then moved away from her brought out his sword as he started breaking the chains bounding the beast.

As he broke the final chain, the doors flew open and the mages ran inside. That immediately got the dragon alarmed, however, being no longer bound by chains, she showed sign of retaliation, hissed and growled at the group appearing in front of her. The chains had drained her of magic but her physical condition was enough to kill the mages present in the room. Well, except for Natsu. The dragon slayer saw how distressed the dragon suddenly became and tried to calm her down.

The Fairy Tail mages ran towards the dragon. The cells were dark and so, only blue lights could be seen and so they approached the distressed dragon, and next to her, the man who had fought them before stood, patting the beast.

Wendy looked up, amazement plastered all over her expression as she stared in awe the beautiful creature before her.

"Amazing!" Lucy said, keeping her eyes locked on the dragon.

None except Wendy had ever seen a dragon up close and had only heard of them in myths. Seeing the real thing was nothing like they expected it to be. Even though she was hostile, she didn't attack sight which gave them some assurance of not being eaten alive.

Erza was the first to avert her eyes from the beast to the figure standing next to it. There was little light so she couldn't get a clear view of the person. She decided to move closer. The others stood still on their spot while she distanced herself from them as she walked closer to both the dragon and the man.

Her eyes widened in pure shock when she saw pink locks covering and an all too familiar face. She couldn't believe what her eyes were showing her. She hadn't seen him on over seven years and had almost lost any and all hope of seeing him ever again and yet, there he was, standing in front of her, as an enemy.

An enemy. That's when she realized what he was at that moment. Confusion and a feeling of anger took over her. Questions filled her mind. He had massacred those soldiers in cold blood, and now, he had put one of her comrades on his deathbed.

"Long time," he said with a small smile, feeling of nostalgia and memories flooding his mind. He had really hoped to not meet like this. But it seemed that wasn't something he could not escape anymore.

"Natsu" She voiced slightly shaken, trying to push back all her personal emotions. She held onto her serious expression and tried to muster the words to say to him. But Natsu beat her to it.

"As much as I would like a happy reunion, it's clearly not happening. We will talk later, but for now, I have to take care of this situation." He put a hand on the dragon and looked back at a frowning Erza.

"Are you going to slay the dragon?" She asked, doubts growing upon hearing he wanted to 'take care' of the beast.

He frowned, as if offended by the question "No Erza, I'm here to take her to a safe place, away from these monsters who did this to her" venom dripped from his voice, hatred growing once again inside him, forgetting all about the old friend that stood before him, and concentrating on his anger towards the people responsible for this.

She had so many questions to ask but was interrupted when the rest of the group walked towards them, on guard and ready to fight.

Now it was Gray's turn to face the shock and surprise of meeting an old friend in this horrid place. He stared, open-mouthed as he watched Natsu with widened eyes.

Although he was happy seeing him alive, all his feelings concentrated on one emotion. Anger. He was angry at him for so many reasons. Natsu had left them without saying a word. One night, he had up and left. He had every reason to be angry at him. And now, he had almost killed Gajeel and hurt his friends. That's something he couldn't accept no matter how he felt about an old friend. But what he couldn't wrap his head around was the reasoning behind Natsu's actions.

"Hi, Gray" He smiles at him as he watched the Ice-mage stare at him, probably having so many questions for him. But again, this wasn't the time.

He looked back at Natsu, who had a blank and indifferent look on his face.

"Natsu...How is it possible?" Gray mumbled

Natsu closed his eyes and sighed "I know you probably have so many questions for me but right now, I have to take care of this dragon and get her out of here. How about we talk later?"

This wasn't a suggestion and more like a statement than anything. He turned back to the dragon and asked her to let him climb on her. Despite being young, the dragon could still carry a few people. She kneeled down and bowed enough to let Natsu get on her, and when he stabled himself on her, the dragon slayer with one swift of his hand turned the walls to ash and created a whole and a path for the dragon to fly through and reach the outside. And so, the dragon did exactly that. She spread her wings and flew on the path created by him, leaving startled and beyond confuse mages behind.

"What just happened?" Lucy asked, trying to make sense of what had occurred.

"The dragon trusted him. Why?" Wendy looked down, thinking about the dragon. That was all she could think about.

"What Juvia found strange was that Gray and Erza knew him. Gray my love, how do you know that person?" she looked with a concerned expression after seeing how dazed he had become upon seeing the pink haired boy.

Gray looked over at Juvia before realizing what her question was. He looked down "He was once part of the guild" he stated quietly.

They all looked at Gray and Erza in bewilderment.

"You're kidding me?! That monster was in Fairy Tail!?" Lucy asked but suddenly regretted it when she saw how afflicted both of them were.

Gray clenched his fists tightly, angry and confused about this surprise meeting, "Dammit, I don't understand! Why did Natsu do all those things?! The things he did to those soldiers and even Gajeel...How can he kill so easily? The Natsu we knew-"

"Gray! That was seven years ago. I never thought he would change to this extent but he did. A lot can happen in this time and Gray about him not killing, don't you remember when he tried to kill Laxus for just having a lacrima inside him. We didn't know him for that long so when you think about it, we really don't know much about him. However, I must admit that the aura surrounding him had changed drastically. It was unrecognizable. It was always so welcoming and warm but now..." Erza explained, frowning at the end while entering deep thoughts. Even she was having a hard time accepting this change. But she was getting her answers. Natsu had some explaining to do and she was going to make sure that it happened.

"He tried to kill Laxus?!" Lucy asked, trying to hold her jaw from dropping. But then she thought back at his showcase of power he had earlier and somehow didn't find it that surprising. But what shocked her was that he was once friends and even belonged to Fairy Tail.

"Yeah...He's got some serious explaining to do" Gray grumbled.

"Wendy are you alright?" Juvia asked, seeing how the young dragon slayer was bothered by something.

She seemed to have snapped out of her thoughts "Yes I'm fine. I was just thinking about the dragon and how she trusted that man. At that moment, he seemed so nice and caring, it almost made me forget what he did before." she stopped when she suddenly realized something "I have to go check on Gajeel and Lily" she ran off into the direction she first came in. The others followed.

The dragon slayer along with the injured exceed had both just woken up and now were waiting for an explanation of what happened.

"Where did that bastard go?" Gajeel asked as he put himself in a sitting position all the while holding onto his wound.

"He left with the dragon. Turns out he was a friend of Erza and Gray's. So he didn't attack us. Just took the dragon and left but I have a feeling we'll be seeing him soon enough" Lucy said and turned to face the two mages she just mentioned.

"Yes, we will. We have to talk to him about the things that happened" Erza said.

"Well, I'll be kicking his ass for leaving like that and hurting our friends. He won't know what hit him" Gray slightly grinned, excited to give the pink-haired dragon slayer a beating he won't forget.

Gajeel snorted at Gray's statement "Yeah right. Like you can even touch him. You don't stand a chance against him. So dream on about that ass kicking fantasy of yours"

The two of them started glaring at each other while butting heads, making the others sweatdrop at both their antics.

"Let's go. We don't have any time to waste" Erza ordered while the others obliged, and seeing how impatient she was she walked in front of all the others at a fast pace. Gajeel used Gray as support while Wendy carried Lily, and they all followed. The more they walked towards the exit and the more the temperature augmented. Once outside, they saw that the whole main building was on fire and had started to crumble. People escaped, screaming for help from the building.

"Is he trying to roast us alive?" Gray yelled annoyed and bothered by all the heat.

"We have to save these people," Lucy said, not bearing to watch people burn to death.

"Agreed" Erza gave a nod and so, Juvia and Gray started putting out the fire while Erza and Lucy tried to rescue the injured located in the old structure which was falling apart.

The sun was beginning to set, the color of the sky turned orange and the clouds were tinted in red. Natsu sat on the ground, leaning on a tree trunk while the dragon had fallen asleep next to him. As he watched her, he thought of how long it had been for her since she last slept well and how long it had been since she had breathed fresh air. He had let out his anger on that fortress before and he wasn't the only one. The dragon also started destroying and tearing apart the whole place. Now he had closed his eyes, waiting for the dragon to get some rest before bringing her to their destination.

He flickered his eyes open when he saw the group of mage advancing towards him. He let out a deep breath, slightly annoyed and nervous about explaining why he did what he did. How was he suppose to give an explanation for trying to kill them? He stood up and watched as they closed the distance between them. The dragon also woke up but didn't really retaliate. She watched them warily but since she didn't feel any hostility, she kept down.

"Natsu" Erza voiced, while slightly glaring at him, keeping her serious expression on.

"Hey," Natsu smiled as he made a small wave with his hand. He was caught off guard when suddenly Gray lunged towards him and punched him in the jaw, making Natsu stumble back at him but showed no sign of retaliation.

"Don't you dare 'hey' us Natsu! You've got some serious explaining to do so don't even try to act nice after what you did!" Gray barked at him, letting the cooped up anger out on him. The fact that he smiled and acted so casually pissed him off even more. Nobody hurts Fairy Tail and gets away with it.

Natsu massaged where he received the hook "Guess I deserved that one"

"Oh no! You deserve so much more than that. Now start talking" Gray snapped at him.

"Gray calm down." Erza then turned around to face Natsu, "I demand an explanation Natsu. Let's first start with why you attacked our friends."

Natsu gave them a nervous look while scratching the back of his head "In my defense, I had no idea they were your friends"

"That's not an excuse for going that far in just a fight. He could've died." she slightly raised her voice, slowly losing her composure.

"Okay so first off, I didn't know they were with you guys. And now that I think about it, where are your emblems? That might've helped you know. How the heck, am I suppose to know who they were? All I saw was a group of mages getting in my way and so, I took care of it." Natsu explained. Now that he was thinking back on what he said, he might not have used the best words to describe what happened. Erza and Gray's glare made that clear. The other mages kept a watchful eye on him, wary of him. Natsu didn't really blame them after what happened.

Natsu sighed "Look, I admit that I might have gotten a bit carried away in that fight but hey, I let him stay down, and he just got back up and attacked me, again."

"That still doesn't give you the right to kill someone!" Lucy decided to step in, disgusted by the way he thought of taking a life so easily.

Natsu shot a quick glare at her, making her slightly nervous but fought hard to not let him intimidate her. "Let's make something clear here. You people tried to get between me and this dragon, who had been suffering under those humans for a long time. I came here to save her, and what do you do? You try to stop me. I'm sorry for taking it that far but if you thought that you would come out of that unscathed, then you thought wrong. Not to mention that you guys started attacking me while all I wanted to do was get through that door" He said as he continued glaring.

Erza listened carefully to what he was saying and found some truth in his explanation. The mages she knew weren't exactly known for thinking ahead of their actions and they were rather rash in their way of acting. Although she didn't agree with Natsu's ways, her friends were the ones to confront him, so she couldn't really blame him for that, could she? She looked at him, no longer as angry as she was before and said "Natsu, I understand that they were in the wrong there with attacking you without reason but nonetheless, you _did_ take the fight too far by trying to kill Gajeel. I don't understand how that is an 'Okay' thing to do in your book"

Natsu frowned "I don't take pleasure in killing. Well, not most of the times. And the record, it's not an okay thing even in my book." he then tilted his head to the side and looked at Gajeel "He's alive, isn't he? So why exactly are we having this conversation?" he raised an eyebrow while looking at Erza.

"Not thanks to you" Gajeel snapped at him. "Oh and don't forget, I'll be paying you back for that." he let out a small grin, which then Natsu returned.

"Glad you're not dead. Thanks, little girl for not letting him die. That would've been a pain considering you're from Fairy Tail" Natsu smiled at Wendy, who looked down at her feet and smiled back.

She nervously looked back up and finally mustered the will to ask what's been on her mind "I'm sorry for asking this but I was wondering where you're taking the dragon." she asked.

"Now that I think about it, I would like to know that as well" Lucy joined in on their conversation, eager to know more.

"I'm sorry but I can't reveal too much detail. All you need to know is that it's a safe haven for dragons and that she'll leave in peace" Natsu answered hesitantly. Even if the girl was a dragon slayer, telling her too much could become dangerous in so many ways.

"A safe haven?" Wendy wandered. She really wanted to know more about this place, and he did say dragons. "You said dragons. Do you know where other dragons are? Please if you know something then you have to tell me" she started pleading.

"I can't"

"But why? Please, I'm trying to find the dragon who raised me. If she's there then I can meet her again." Wendy insisted.

Natsu looked back at her and thought about how similar their situation was "What's your name?"

"Wendy"

"Okay, Wendy there is something you need to know. I understand how you feel cause at some point I was looking for my dad too. I know how you feel and I would like to help you but the thing is that I'll be breaking severe rules if I even speak of this place. You said you're looking for your dragon. How about when I go back, I'll see if I find her or not. What's her name?"

"Grandeeney. You would really do that?! Thank you so much" she grinned happily. She knew she couldn't get more information that she already had but at least he could help her find her mother.

"No problem kiddo" he shuffled her hair causing her to giggle. Carla sent a glare his way which caused him to back down and give the blue-headed dragon slayer some space and wondering what he's done wrong to the cat.

Gajeel who had been listening to their conversation was now intrigued. He averted his look to Natsu "Mind looking into a dragon called Metalicana? Iron dragon, covered in silver and iron"

"Yeah sure"

Erza let out a deep sigh and thought about it for a few seconds as he watched his old friend making conversation with her comrades. She knows very well how time can change someone and it's not like this conversation was leading to something, so she decided to drop the subject at least for now. She moved towards where Natsu, Wendy, Carla, and Lucy, and stopped when she stood in front of Natsu.

He looked at her, slightly confused and. When suddenly he was pulled into a tight hug, his body being crushed against her armor, he looked up at the girl smiling at him. This wasn't something he expected, certainly not after the conversation they just had. "Erza?..."

"I missed you Natsu" She held him close, as if she'd let go, he would once again disappear.

"I missed you too Erza. I missed everyone at Fairy Tail" he voiced in whispers, loud enough for her and Gray who had come closer to them to hear, After a minute, she let go. Natsu then looked over at Gray, approached him and gave him a brotherly hug. It caught the ice-mage by surprise mostly due to the fact of how he punched him on the sights.

Erza smiled at the two, remembering how they were like brothers at the time. Gray was more of a loner but when Natsu showed up, he started feeling like being part of a family again. Erza remembered how happier he was. Both him and Natsu. He had just been abandoned by the only family that he had but then feeling like having a brother to have your back made him overcome that. The two boys grinned at each other.

The others were dumbstruck by that last part. Gray rarely displayed any kind of affection and seeing him like that was very unusual. Lucy smiled at them. She was glad for both of her friends for having found an old friend.

"So I've gotta question. What's up with the flying cats? I've seen a lot of things but this, never even imagined it." he looked over at the exceeds.

"How rude. We are Exceeds, not cats." Carla growled at him, earning a surprise and confused look from Natsu.

"Carla he didn't know. You don't need to be so rude." Wendy said, earning a 'hmph' from the white exceed.

"Sorry, didn't mean to offend" Natsu gave her an apologetic look, which seemed to have absolutely no effect since it just made her turn back and walk away from him.

Happy suddenly flew towards him "We're not cats but we love fish"

"That's just you" Lily retorted.

"Okay little guy, I'll get you some fish sometime" Natsu grinned at him. Happy after hearing the word fish jumped around excited just thinking about fish.

Wendy walked up to the dragon, who growled at her as soon as she saw her approaching. She gave her a genuine smile, hoping she could interact with the young dragon.

"So Natsu, where have you been all this time? And please don't tell me you were looking for Igneel cause I didn't believe that crap for a second" Gray said as he waited for an answer from Natsu with arms crossed.

"Yeah kinda figured. Well let's see, I trained most of that time and I've been here and there" Natsu said while thinking about what to tell them.

"Oi, that's not-...what the hell!"

Out of nowhere, a seal suddenly appeared on the ground and out of it a man came through, eyes glowing in green while all his body was covered with tree branches and flowers blooming on some of them. To none of the mages standing there he appeared human and all except Natsu got immediately ready to fight, well minus Gajeel and Lily who were still hurt.

The figure stood still, as if not noticing anyone standing there until he turned to face the dragon. Afterward, he averted his eyes to Natsu, who was standing bearing an impassive expression, just watching him.

"Why are you here?" Natsu asked in a monotone voice.

"You were taking too long. Why are you wasting your time with humans?" He asked, looking with disgust at everybody surrounding Natsu.

"Be nice. It just took a bit longer than I thought to find the dragon and I think I should remind you that I walked so of course, it would take some time." Natsu said.

Gray having had heard enough and now annoyed as well as confused came forwards "Natsu are you seriously leaving again?! And who the hell is he anyway?"

Natsu looked at his old friend, ignoring his questions and then looked down as if thinking. He suddenly turned back to face the woodman "I want you to take back the dragon."

"Why?"

"Look I have some reminiscing to do and I kinda have to visit some old acquaintances and it's probably gonna take a while. Tell her I'll be gone for a while" Natsu said in a voice indicating that the matter wasn't up for discussion. He scowled in response but saw no point in arguing with him, so he advanced towards the dragon. She looked at him for a few seconds and looked at Natsu, who nodded his head, motioning to her to trust this man. So she let him climb her and the two suddenly took off without another word, with the man leading the way.

The Fairy Tail mages were left shell-shocked, trying to wrap their head around what just happened.

"Can someone explain to me what that was?" Lucy asked, not really directing the question to anyone in particular.

"Juvia would also like to know"

Natsu scratched the back of his neck while giving a half laugh "No one special. Just someone I know who will assure to take care of the dragon and assure to arrive there safely."

"You're still not gonna tell us where that is?" Gajeel questioned him.

"Nope," Natsu said with a smirk. The smirk then transformed into a toothy grin "Now come on, I wanna go see everyone from Fairy Tail. Man, this is gonna be awesome" He became all excited just thinking of going back to the guild. He had missed that place a lot, more than he could've imagined.

"Everyone will be very happy to see you Natsu again," Erza said, and so they all started walking away from the fortress and the whole area.

* * *

Unknown to the mages, at a very far distance, two figure had been watching them ever since they came out of the fortress with the dragon.

"Just our luck. I really hoped the dragon would be older. That young was gonna be no use to me" A feminine voice came from one of the cloaked figures said, sounding very disappointed.

"Is that why you didn't go for it? I thought for sure you were scared of him" the other spoke, in a more calm manner. From "What the hell makes you think I'm afraid?! I could kill that guy in my sleep" she protested angrily, irritated that he'd even say that.

"You shouldn't underestimate your enemies. That has a become a tendency of yours" he continued in a monotone voice, making her even more annoyed.

"Shut up!" she spat out and started walking away from him. He watched for a few seconds before trailing behind her, until the two disappeared into the forest.

* * *

The mages stopped when the town of Magnolia finally came into view. The journey back had taken more time than when they set out for the mission since now three dragon slayers backed up the idea of walking instead of taking transportation, much to the other's dismay. They had walked most of the trip, which gave Erza and Gray to reminisce with their old friend and for the others to also get to know him better, well aside from his violent side they met during their time as foes which they tried to not think about.

"Wow, this place really hasn't changed huh?" Natsu said, watching from above the hill the town where the guild resided. He was so enthusiastic and slightly nervous about seeing everyone again.

"I've been meaning to ask, why didn't you come back to visit over the years? I mean I'm sure Fairy Tail would've been happy to see you again" Lucy asked.

Natsu's mood immediately dropped causing everyone to look at him in surprise of the sudden change. He frowned and looked away, his expression turning into one beholding pain, sorrow and even a hint of guilt.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you" this startled Lucy, thinking that what she said suddenly bothered him.

"You didn't say anything wrong, Lucy. I just remembered some stuff." he gave a sad smile. It didn't take long for him to regain back his usual grin "Let's go"

Gray and Erza exchanged a look, wondering why that subject suddenly plagued him. They also had wondered why he didn't visit all those times but having that conversation would probably have made him feel worse and it was something to be discussed at the guild with everyone else also present to hear him.

The group walked through town, with Natsu enjoying the view. It was around evening and the town was still very much active, despite the moon slowly appearing in the orange-like sky.

The moment the guild came into sight, Natsu was left amazed at the new building and how much it had changed since his time at the guild.

"Surprised?" Gray asked, amused at seeing the reaction from the dragon slayer.

"You bet. But I guess I should've expected it with time" he said as he continued admiring the structure.

"Oh no, time didn't do this. A certain dragon slayer brought this change" Gray said, hinting at Gajeel who just looked pissed, not wanting to remember how he'd join Fairy Tail.

"Gajeel you renovated the place?" Natsu asked with a raised eyebrow, not really expecting it from the guy. He barely knew him but having spent some time on the road had revealed some things about him. Well about everyone.

Gray burst out in laughter, while Lucy gave off small laughs. "Oh man, him? renovating? Yeah right. He destroyed the old one" he continued laughing but stopped when he got a glare from Erza. She decided to give a short summary of the events that happened between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord. This time it was Natsu's turn to start laughing, and although it lasted shorter than Gray's, he still found it hilarious that the old guild got trashed by Gajeel and then the same person joined them.

"Quit laughing! I was under orders. Tch, you can pain Salamander" Gajeel snapped at him, causing Natsu to smirk and gain a smug look hearing the last part.

"What's with the nickname? Now that I think about it, you've been calling me that for a while" he asked curiously, being intrigued by this name.

"Giii Hiii...You eat and breath fire, so does a salamander and they're like tiny wingless dragons. Plus, I'll call you whatever I want," Gajeel snickered while Natsu was confused.

"Yeah, you do that" Natsu didn't really care what people called him most of the times and so he just went along with it.

Erza started walking ahead of others "We should probably report back, although I think he has been made aware by now about how the mission went. It's still early so f anyone wants to go and rest then feel free to."

All of them headed for the Guildhall, Natsu still looked around his surrounding until he reached the front door. And that was when he started getting uneasy. How was he supposed to face an entire guild, which he left without a proper goodbye? He knew he should've come back or at least visited but he never did. Erza and Gray took it pretty well considering how cowardly he had acted but that doesn't mean the rest will. He wouldn't blame them if Fairy Tail wanted nothing to do with him. Still, he had to confront them and hopefully, the rest will go smoothly. He got so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the others pushing the doors open and entering the building. He trailed behind them. The guild was at its peak of rowdiness. Just Natsu's luck.

It was really as rowdy as he remembered it to be. Even rowdier than that. A sad smile appeared on Natsu's face as he felt a sensation of nostalgia, the scents of people he knew before filling his nostrils, the voices...Sure the place had changed but it was the people who made Fairy Tail, well, Fairy Tail. He wasn't exactly one to be very sentimental but he couldn't help it. He had always retained a certain attachment to this place and its people. However, he remembered why he didn't come back here, even just to visit.

From afar, Mira started waving at the group and approaching them while having her typical gentle smile "Glad you came back safely. The council already informed us about the mission and-" her smile dropped and her expression was quickly changed to that of astonishment as her eyes met Natsu's.

"Hey Mirajane" he smiled at her, which she didn't really respond to,

"Wait a minute is that who I think it is?"

"That pink hair can only belong to him"

"I thought we'd never see him again"

"That's really Natsu. Damn seven years and he finally shows up"

Murmurs soon turned into loud chatter, all focused on one thing. Most eyes were now focused on the pink-headed dragon slayer, who was beginning to feel real unconfrontable under all that gaze. He still had his doubts about making the right call coming here but he knew he was far beyond that at this point.

"Mira, you've certainly changed a lot. Never expected this" Natsu said with a slight chuckle.

"Well, you know how time can be."

"Yeah, I know that better than anyone" they talked for a little before being interrupted by one of the Strauss siblings.

"Natsu!" Lisanna jumped on him, pulling him into a hug, and as a result, both of them knocked to the floor.

"Lisanna! Good to see you again" Natsu grinned, still Lisanna lying on top of him, feeling slightly awkward about the scene they were making.

"You jerk, why did it take so long to come back here" she gave him fake punches to the chest, but still overjoyed of seeing him again.

"I'm really sorry," he said in a genuine tone, his eyes holding all his emotions that were filled with guilt.

"You better be" Cana walked towards them, first holding a serious and slightly angry expression which quickly turned into a wide grin.

"Cana!" he gave a slight wave of the hand, still being pinned to the floor by a cheery Lisanna, who started getting

The group was still in front of the doors, watching Natsu and the others reconnect. Other members started showing up and all of them went straight to Natsu.

"They all seem so happy" Lucy murmured, smiling at her guildmates being overjoyed of meeting a long lost member. She still wondered why he never came by, now seeing how he's loved by everyone deepening her questions."Yeah, you're right. I'm so happy for them" Wendy said."Everyone seems to know him really well or at least they were good friends before," Juvia said. She then averted her eyes from them to Gray, and she noticed how down he was. She wondered why since he just got his friend back. She noticed the same look on Erza. Before she could say anything, Makarov showed up.

Natsu got up and cleared the dust from his cloth and got confronted with the master of Fairy Tail, who grinned widely at the boy. "Natsu my boy, you've grown up quite well"

"And you haven't changed old man," he said with a grin, making the master chuckle.

Makarov watched him, trying to hold back the tears. He had been so worried for a while and had sometimes thoughts of never being able to see him again. If he was being honest, he had slight regrets about letting him go that day and had always hoped that he had done the right choice in trusting him. Seeing him now, despite a change in his aura, he seemed like his normal self. Or the one he remembered from the younger Natsu.

"It's good to have you back Natsu" he stated.

"It's good to be back," he said with a toothy grin.

Makarov jumped on one of the tables and made a slight coughing sound to get everyone's attention "Now then Fairy Tail listen up, let's welcome back an old member of our family. Let's party till we drop!" Cheers roared through the Guildhall.

"Fairy Tail never changes" Natsu murmured and went to join in the party.

The guild partied the rest of the evening, old friends reminisced and talked about old memories and their lives and so they chatted till late at night. It was becoming late at night and most members were passed out or had left. Few were still at the guild, but the atmosphere had grown much quieter and tranquil.

The assigned team for the mission went at some point to talk to the master and give in their report along with other details involving their journey and their meeting with Natsu. Some of the things he heard were disconcerting to Makarov but still, he was happy that they came back home safe and sound, and brought Natsu with them. He was glad that no one found out that the mages were from Fairy Tail because that would only jeopardize the safety of the whole of Fiore. Even if Pergrebde lost their dragon, they couldn't just start a war with a country or all countries. What worried him was that if they would ever get their hands on another dragon, this would mean war and they would have enough power this time.

Natsu was currently sitting next to Levy, Cana, Lisanna, and Elfman. They were busy talking when Makarov started making his way to their table.

"Natsu my boy, could you please come to my office. We have somethings to talk about" he immediately turned around, not waiting for Natsu's response. They both walked to his office, which Makarov installed a noise cancelation spell to avoid any eavesdroppers. He needed to confront Natsu about somethings and some of them were private. They both disappeared behind the office's doors.


	5. Natsu vs Gildarts

**Natsu vs Gildarts**

* * *

"They've been talking for hours" Gray groaned while his head rested on the table.

"Stop complaining. It's been only two hours and they have probably a lot of things to say. You do know you don't have to stay right?" Erza replied. She was busy polishing her armors and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the guild, even if most of it was wrecked.

"So I wanted to ask, how did you guys meet Natsu anyway? Cause it doesn't make sense that he suddenly appears to you guys after seven years. So what's the story?"Levy asked as she approached the two.

"We were on that mission Gramps gave us and we actually didn't meet him first. Cause we kind split into teams and Gajeel, Lucy, Wendy and the exceeds were the ones who ran into him" Gray explained when Cana joined them at their table

Cana, barely awake, stumbled towards them, still drunk "Now that's interesting. I wanna hear"

"Wow Cana, I didn't expect you to be awake," Levy commented, genuinely surprised to see her up, even if she was half conscious. "So happened?"

"I wasn't there so I don't really know. All I got from that part was that they fought him and Gajeel almost died" he said in a very neutral tone as if it was a normal thing to speak of.

"You're joking?" Levy surprised, looked over at Gajeel who cowled at hearing that. He got up and joined the rest.

"Nope, he got his ass kicked"

"I'll like to see you try taking him on" Gajeel barked at Gray, who smirked in response.

"Anytime, as if he can beat me!" Gray said with a smirk.

"You shouldn't underestimate him, Gray. He too has grown stronger since then" Erza exclaimed.

"No shit! I don't know how he was before but he's crazy strong. And he didn't even go all out. What pissed me off was that he barely used any spells, he was toying with me the whole time" he felt anger rising inside him but soon calmed down "But guess he wasn't the bastard that he seemed to be. At least that's what I got from walking with him til here." Gajeel sighed and walked off.

Cana whistled "If he beat Gajeel that easy...Hey Gray, still think you can take him on?" she tilted her head at Gray.

"Yep, it'll be like old times. We'll see who's stronger." Gray grinned, excited just thinking about fighting him again. "Guess I'll be going. I'll just talk to him tomorrow" Gray waved goodbye and left the Guildhall.

"Seriously, what happened to him these seven years? Erza you were together with him on the road, got any ideas?" Cna asked, looking at the Scarlet mage, who seemed to be in deep thoughts while polishing.

"Erza?"

"Yes?" She questioned.

"You sure you're okay? You look lost in your thoughts." Levy pointed out.

"Yes I'm perfectly fine but it's getting late. I'll see you all tomorrow" she announced and left without another word.

Levy and Cana exchanged a look "Is it just me or she should be happier than this? I mean, she and Gray were really close to him. I really thought she would jumping around from excitement"

"You're right. Something's going on here. Maybe something happened. Guess we'll find out tomorrow" Cana said and walked off.

* * *

Two hours ago

Makarov and Natsu entered the office. The old man hopped on his desk and sat on it while Natsu took the chair. A few minutes were spent in silence, with the two of them staring at one another. Finally, Natsu broke the silence.

"So how you been old man?"

"Good Natsu. What I wanna know is that what you've been doing for these last seven years?" Makarov asked.

"Straight to the point. You really haven't changed and I see neither has Fairy Tail. It's good to see that some things will always stay the same, even in time" Natsu said with a little chuckle, making also Makarov sile at him. He then continued "So where have I been? You know, here and there, doing stuff, training..." he stopped when he saw the annoyed look on Makarov's face.

"You're answers are immensely vague. Would you mind going more into details? And don't believe for a second that I bought the going to find your dragon excuse. Nobody did" he asked in a more serious tone, making also Natsu drop his smile and gain the same look as him.

"I know that" Natsu took a deep breath "There isn't really much to tell. I trained most of that time and the rest, well... Gramps, there are stuff that I can't tell you. Let me rephrase that, I'm not allowed to tell you."

Makarov furrowed, not liking at all the responses he was getting. Maybe he was thinking too much about it but he knows the boy is hiding something and he has every intention of figuring that out "You expect me to believe that over these seven years, you've done nothing but training. I know you were lying about having a lead on your dragon but you must've tried to look for him"

Natsu bit his lips, his bangs covering his eyes as he looked down, but ultimately cracked a sad smile "He's dead."

"I'm so sorry Natsu. I-"

"What are you sorry about? All you did to me was being a good master and giving me a home. I'm the one who should be sorry here. I left and lied to you. I know its too late but I'll tell you the real reason why I left Fairy Tail..." he straightened and looked Makarov directly in the eyes "...Revenge."

Makarov's eyes widened in shock. That was exactly what he was afraid of. He was starting to feel regret but quickly brushed it off since it was utterly useless at this point. Before he could say anything, Natsu continued "I left with someone who offered me power. The power that I would need to one day kill the one who brought about the extinction of dragons and killed Igneel. Acnologia. It was the night that I left that I found out that Igneel was dead and that _he_ was responsible for it. Maybe I wasn't thinking straight, I don't know but then he offered me power"

"Who?" Everything that Natsu was telling him was making him just feel worse. Now he definitely regretted letting him leave like that. He just let a power hungry little boy leave with nothing but vengeance in mind. Over the years he had known others like Natsu and none were able to walk the path of light. He felt responsible, even if some part of him was telling him otherwise. The thing that was worrying him was that the brat was seeking the most feared and evil creature on Earthland and nothing good could come out of it. Now he just wandered who had offered him this power that he speaks of.

Natsu hesitated. He spent a few minutes thinking if he should reveal it to him. Of course, he could and it's not like he was trying to stay hidden but he still was indecisive. "He was the one who told me about Igneel's death and the cause of it. The thing that I didn't know and Igneel never spoke of was that he had a son. His biological son. That's who I left the guild with."

Makarov felt a sudden relief after hearing that he left with a related of his father. He had no doubt that Igneel, who raised Natsu properly was a good dragon, so how bad could his son be? But there were still some things that bothered him.

"Anyway, he trained me for a few years and after that, I got preoccupied with some other things which unfortunately I cannot speak of."

"Does it involve dragons?" Makarov asked knowing the answer.

"Seems like they've already told you some stuff about the events in Pergrande. To answer your question, yeah, it does. And about that, I'm sorry for hurting them. I really didn't know they were from Fairy Tail."

"It's alright. I am just thankful they're all alive. And I am sure you've already have heard a lecture from either Erza or Gray so I won't press the matter. I am happy that the dragon got out safe and that was the goal of the mission I gave them and they just happened to bring back a bonus with them" Makarov said.

That caused Natsu to laugh at the statement. Makarov chuckled. The team that had been sent on that mission filled him in on the details of the mission and by that it means every detail. Including the Gajeel almost dying by his hand which the master wasn't too thrilled about but also how he killed the soldiers who opposed him and then burned the whole place with every intention of killing the ones who were still inside. That thought deeply disturbed him. The boy sitting in front of him didn't even resemble the description he was given and that's what worried him. He's hiding a much darker and colder side which apparently his enemies are confronted too. He could feel powerful magic coming from him and from what he heard, he had much more concealed.

"Gramps, would you mind keeping the dragon thing a secret. Cause that just slipped and I'm probably in enough trouble as it is, so can you please do me this favor?" he asked.

"Of course and I'll make sure the others will too. I have to ask Natsu, are you still going after Acnologia?" That question had been preoccupying him ever since he told him of his revenge plans. From the moment Gildrats told him of his mission and what happened to him once faced with that monster, he wouldn't want Natsu going through the same, maybe even worse. Gildarts was strong and no matter how strong Natsu had gotten, being confronted with that monster would bring nothing but suffering, which he would never wish upon anyone, not even his enemies much less Natsu.

"I haven't given up on that and I'll probably never will. But I'm not stupid enough to go after him when I'm still not strong enough. If I do find him then yes, I will go for the kill. My reasons for wanting him dead were at first only focused on Igneel but now, I have a hell of more reasons to slay him and I will slay that dragon if its the last thing I do." he declared, which did the opposite of reassuring Makarov. But it seemed that there was nothing he can do to change his mind. Maybe if he hadn't left before he could've tried to make him see differently but it was well past that point. Even so, he wasn't about to give up. Natsu continued "I've tried looking for him but I've been preoccupied as of recently with other matters so I postponed that. Plus, I have to get stronger cause I'm not planning on dying any time soon" he said determinedly with a grin.

Makarov was at least happy to hear that Natsu wasn't going to throw his life away in order to reach his goal. "Although I am not too happy with that revenge plan of yours, I am glad to know that you've done more with your life than seek power," he stated with a smile.

Natsu knew he had much more to talk about and that none were very enjoyable and was glad that he had not persisted on them. He really didn't want to ruin things when he just reunited with his old family. Talking about that would only be unpleasant for both of them.

Makarov jumped down his desk and walked towards him, with not necessarily the most serious expression but still acted sternly. "I have another question for you now. Why didn't you ever come back? I understand if you weren't in Fiore often but I'd like to think that you hadn't forgotten Fairy Tail and your friends. Am I right in assuming that?" he narrowed his eyes. That question had plagued him for q while now and no matter how he put it in his head, he couldn't figure out what his reasoning might have been. The only logical explanation would've been he was either forced to stay away from here by someone, or he stopped caring which he found hard to believe because if that was the case, he wouldn't have come back here. So he was eager to know.

Natsu looked down, his salmon locks covering his eyes, while he thought of an answer to give. This was exactly something he wanted to avoid but it seemed the old man had every intention of getting that out of him. And he had every right to, so he better finds the right words to say to him.

Makarov watched as the boy suddenly lost all happiness in him. Before bringing his head down, he thought he saw guilt and affliction in his eyes, which just made him question this even more. He was averted from his thoughts when he heard muttering coming from him.

"I..." Natsu really didn't know how to express himself. What was he suppose to tell him? "I didn't deserve it," he said in a rather low tone but loud enough for Makarov to hear him and be shocked by it.

"What? Natsu..." he whispered in concern, seeing only pain in his voice, while he still kept his head down.

"I've changed. I'm not the person the same person than I was in Fairy Tail" he looked up, his expression reflecting his voice.

"Natsu I would expect that much. I would've been surprised if you hadn't changed" Makarov said.

"You don't get it!" he slightly raised his voice "I've changed but not in the way you want it. Fairy Tail is a place filled with joy and inspires light and happiness. After what I've done, I don't ever deserve to come back to such place. That would only taint the light that each person has created with nothing but evil. I don't ever want to do that to this guild. I wanted to stay away, from everyone's sake." his body had started to shake as he explained.

Of course, he wanted to know what he had done that would be so terrible to make him speak in such manner. However, the only thing he could think at that moment was the burden the boy must've been carrying and how much pain filled him. He hated that he didn't come to the guild over the years because then he would've been able to help him in some way. "Natsu, I have told you before that Fairy Tail's doors will always be opened to you. I am not going to ask of you what you have done in these years and I have no doubt that whatever it is, is eating you up from the inside. You know what that proves to me? It proves that you feel remorse and regret which is what distinguished you from evil. How do you define evil Natsu? Because darkness is not evil. I can see you've changed. Perhaps more than I can see at the moment but I have no doubt that Fairy Tail would've been able to help you"

"You're wrong Makarov. That's just it. You don't know what I've done so how could you even think of helping me?!" he shouted at him.

"I am extremely disappointed in you Natsu" he stated, unshaken by the shouts he just received. Natsu looked at him confused. "I expected you to know that you can always depend on your family. Always Natsu and that's exactly what you didn't do. I am wondering how you can even forget such a significant thing. The pain you bear could've been eased with the support of those who love and trust you. So why did you neglect that?"

As Natsu listened, he remembered things that he had forgotten like the value of true family. With Ignia, he had started to forget those and then after going to the Dragon Terra, even if he was encircled by a somewhat friendly environment, none resembled the human definition of family. He suddenly started chuckling which turned into laughter. "I really don't know what I was thinking Gramps." He kept laughing which started to confuse and somewhat worry Makarov."I'm such an idiot" he whispered.

"What matters is that you don't forget that again," Makarov said. "Now what do you say, wanna come back to Fairy Tail?"

"I think I'd like that but before I make a definite decision, I have to go back and talk to some people."

"You're leaving right now? Again without saying anything to the others?" Makarov asked with a frown.

"No not this time. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to stay here for a few days before returning. Of course, if it's okay with you." he looked at Makarov.

"Of course my boy. I hope you join the guild once again but in the meanwhile, feel free to use the infirmary the nights." Makarov said with a smile.

"Thanks, Gramps" he watched as the master exited the room. He soon followed him. The Guildhall was empty at this hour, well empty of awake people. Some were still passed out on. Makarov said his goodbyes and left the guild as he directed himself to one of the infirmaries bed.

* * *

Few days later

Natsu woke up pretty early in the morning, the room filled with the early sunlight. He walked to the window and gazed at the peaceful and quiet town. Over the past few, he got enjoy the guild's atmosphere once again after a long time,

He came out of the infirmary and noticed Mira cleaning up the guild and getting the bar and the kitchen ready.

"Good morning Mira," he said as he descended down the stairs.

"Hello, Natsu, did you sleep well?" Mira gave him a gentle smile, while she continued picking up cups off the floor.

"Yeah, I did. Here let me help with that" He started cleaning alongside her. "So how did you end up working as a barmaid? I mean I know people change but I never imagined this? Then again, I'm really not one to talk" he looked away with a half smile.

"Well actually, it kinda happened two years ago. On a mission, I thought Lisanna died and I guess that's how the changed happened."

Natsu was a little confused and slightly shocked at hearing her say that Lisanna died. But seeing as that was not a good memory, he decided to drop the subject.

"Mira! Natsu!" A petite white-haired girl entered the Guildhall and alongside her a flying blue exceed.

"Oh hi, Lisanna" Natsu waved. He was still not too confrontable interacting with his old guildmates and most importantly, he didn't know anything about them aside from what he remembered. And there was also the matter of how they look at him.

"Mira, can I have some fish?" Happy asked, barely able to contain himself from the thought of it.

"I'm sorry Happy but the deliveries won't come till tomorrow and we're out of fish," Mira said with an apologetic look. Happy pouted but remained quiet.

Natsu continued helping both Lisanna and Mira out with cleaning up the mess. Others soon started to show up, starting with the master and followed by other members.

It was around noon and the guild was calm and people were each busy doing their own thing. Natsu walked up to Makarov, who was sitting by the bar, sipping on his drink.

"Hey Gramps, I was wondering, where's Gildarts? I thought there was someone missing" he asked.

"He's on a quest. He'll probably be back any day now, it wasn't particularly hard." Out of nowhere, an alarm went off. "Speak of the devil"

"What the hell?!" Natsu mouthed as he held on to his ears, bothered by the loud sound echoing through town. "What the heck is Gildarts shift?!" he asked irritated while looking at Makarov, who just laughed at his reaction.

"Right right, I forgot you weren't here when we installed it. You remember his magic right? Well, this is a precaution cause the bills were just piling up and believe it or not, this actually was one of the best investments I ever made." Makarov explained with laughter. He then told him to go look at what was going on outside. Natsu really wasn't expecting the whole town to split in two but then he remembered just how destructive Gildarts was, and somehow, it was now less surprising.

"Hey, Master!" Gildarts waved happily as he entered the Guildhall.

"How was the mission?" he asked and drank from his cup.

"Pretty easy. Just the break I needed." He laughed.

"Hi, Gildarts" Natsu walked towards him.

"Hi" The crash mage turned around to see where the sound came from. His eyes widened when he saw Natsu right behind him. "Natsu..." after a brief pause "No way, you're back!" he pulled him immediately into a crushing hug, which almost choked Natsu.

"How've you been Gildarts?" he asked with a grin.

"Pretty good considering all things," He said. "So where you've been?"

"You know, training, traveling, among other things," Natsu replied. "What about you, anything interesting?'

"I went on the century quest and failed miserably at it, so I guess you could still count it as interesting." They talked for another while about what they've been up to, mostly Gildarts.

"Speaking of training, how about a little spar, Gildarts?" he suggested with a sly smirk.

"Why not? But kid, don't get ahead of yourself just cause you've done some training." Gildarts said.

"I wouldn't dream of it. I'm just looking for a good fight."

This got everybody's attention. First, a match with Gildarts was going to be epic and a lot of them were longing to see how strong Natsu's gotten since they found out he beat Gajeel. Everyone stepped outside, a spot by the river where they would be far from people's homes and in addition, Levy and Freed were asked to put up barriers, not that they expected it to last against Gildarts, but just for extra safety measures.

"Taking bets!" Cana declared. They all gathered around her and placing their bets. Almost everyone put their money on Gildarts except a few.

"You guys are seriously betting against the ace of Fairy Tail?! You do realize he's insanely strong right?" Gray asked in astonishment.

Lucy, Gajeel, Pantherlily, and Wendy all nodded at the same time, not even doubting their decision.

"You're wasting your money. Gildarts is on par with Wizard Saint." Gray said.

"I've never seen that guy in action but I sure as hell ain't betting against Salamander," Gajeel stated

"You guys haven't seen him in action in over seven years. I think you're really underestimating him. But then again, I haven't seen Gildarts fight" Lucy said.

Makarov came forward and cleared his throat "I'm sure you both already know the rules. No fatal blows and please, don't destroy this town" he started begging, making all who were present there sweatdrop. "Now begin!"

"Gildarts! No holding back"

"Yeah right kid, I don't want to hospitalize you for more than a month." Gildarts retorted with a laugh.

"I warned you Gildarts. I'm not gonna go easy on you just you are." Natsu said and smirked. His smirk then turned into a devious grin "You're gonna regret it"

"Don't worry. I'll just make sure you don't end up dead. You know I'm no good holding back. Oh and sorry master for any damage this little fight is going to bring"

Makarov comically cried, not even wanting to imagine how much he had pay for their destruction.

They stood still for a few minutes, studying each other.

"At least he doesn't have that hostile look, cause that was just terrifying," Lucy said while being glad to not be enemies with him anymore.

Natsu was the first one to move, with incredible speed, he lunged forward, landing a kick which caught Gildarts by surprise, even pushing him back a bit. Gildarts was genuinely surprised and when his eyes met with Natsu's, he realized the boy was joking around and was taking this seriously. So he stopped playing around.

Gildarts smirked as he started letting the magic leaking out of him, making the earth slightly shaking, and the pressure all around him, making everyone who wasn't sitting, hard to stay stable on both feet. The gravity increased and some were actually having their knees buckling under the incredible force.

What surprised all of them was that Natsu, who was the closest to him didn't even seem to budge while he had a stoic face on. The blank expression turned into a grin, reflecting his excitement. He hadn't had a good fight for a while now and this was just getting him more enthusiastic.

Natsu started radiating magic off of him. It didn't have the same effect as Gildarts nor was it that powerful but it was enough to change the whole temperature of the area surrounding him, even with the barriers installed.

Gildarts stood still while Natsu once again ran towards him, this time his fists coated with fire "**Fire dragon's iron fist**" he went for a punch but was stop when Goldarts took his fist, nullifying the fire and crashed him to a nearby tree, creating a crater. The dragon slayer quickly got up and punch after another, he attacked Gildarts while all he did was defend on the spot.

"It doesn't seem like it has any effect on Gildarts" Erza commented while not looking away from the fight.

"All he's doing is tiring himself out at this point," Gray said, not finding the fight particularly interesting, although was seeing the difference in power of Natsu.

"Salamander's measuring him, up," Gajeel said with a smirk.

"You mean he's not serious yet?" Cana asked, shock clear in her voice.

"Nope"

"Hey Natsu, you're telling me to not hold back so what the heck are you doing?" Gildarts asked while he stood there, arms crossed.

"You're right Gildarts. Sorry bout that. Time to take it up a notch." Natsu announced, still holding onto the grin but also having a serious expression.

"**Dragon slayer's secret art: Crimson Lotus, Exploding Flame Blade**" Natsu declared as he summoned a powerful and destructive torrent of flames, dancing around him, and then barraged Gildarts, as he crossed his arms in defense, using his magic to destroy the spell. The flames were more powerful than what he expected, causing him to put more pressure on his legs in order to stay still. The earth under his feet started to crack, another earthquake going loose. When the fire died down, Gildarst was found taken back a bit, and his arms slightly burned by the fire attack.

Natsu back off from him, regaining his composure, this time losing his grin and frowning a bit while sending a light glare towards his opponent "You haven't used a single spell. You're holding back way too much, which means you're still not taking me seriously, at least not to the degree I want." On the spot he was standing, fire once again started gathering around him but this time, the flames tainted in a crimson color, making everyone there gasp in shock and start sweating.

"What the hell is this heat?!" Gray voiced. As an ice-mage, feeling the heat is something very uncommon and here he was sweating almost as much as the others. He released some of his magic in order to lower the temperature but was barely working.

Makarov watched quietly, although surprised by the power emitting from the boy.

"Gildarts, I'll make sure you never underestimate me again.** Fire Dragon King's mode**" Red fire erupted and encircled Natsu, He was no longer smiling and his expression turned serious, with a hint of anger visible in it while his aura became red and blazing.

"Is it just me or what he used against us was different from this one?" Lucy asked while looking at the people who were on her team that day for a respond.

Carla nodded "Yes it is very different. All I remember from that fight was that his flames held darkness and death while these are more powerful but at least I'm not revolted by them"

"That's probably how he fights his enemies because this is a friendly match rather than a fight. Even if they're both pretty serious about it" Wendy said.

Gildarts smirked, impressed with how much stronger the boy had gotten over the years which just made it all the more exciting for him. "I won't be holding my punches anymore Natsu" A thick and potent aura started forming around him, as he released an incredible amount of magic from him, making all who were watching fall to their knees or even hard to breathe.

"Good to hear" he lunged towards him while charging his fists with a huge amount of fire "**Fire dragon's king Demolition fist**" he punches Gildarts, who he countered it with a spell, seeing that power alone wasn't going to be enough this time.

"**Crushing Evil, Spreading the truth, Empyrean**" he negates Natsu's spell, causing a huge explosion as the two came in contact, the pressure of both attacks creating an immense torrent, completely shattering the two barriers while all the spectators took cover. The fire spread like a plague, all the trees and plants catching on fire while the heat in the area intensified. Gildarts and Natsu were still trying to win a battle of force, but Gildarts countered with a powerful strike, causing Natsu to be launched the other way, crashing him into the forest, and himself thrown back from the impact.

"He's strong" Erza whispered, looking startled at what she just witnessed after flames and the pressure had died down. What shocked her the most was that she thought she saw him still holding back, even against a powerful opponent like Gildarts. She replayed the attack again in her mind and each time she noticed him not going all out, which was beyond odd in her opinion and she couldn't find a proper explanation for it.

Natsu walked back towards the fighting spot, grinning madly, which to some would even seem scary.

They were are dumbstruck, including Gildarts himself to see him walking when he shouldn't even be standing.

"Now that was what I call fun." His grin disappeared when he looked closer at Gildarts "Hey Gildarts, what happened to your body?"

It took a minute for everyone to realize what he was talking about. Natsu was referring to his prosthetic limbs, which came surprisingly. Gildarts cloak had been completely burned down, along with some part of his clothing.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. I met a dragon a while back and guess how that went?" Gildarts stated, watching Natsu's expression turn into a shocked and startled one. "I met a black dragon and later on I found out he was Acnologia. He took my arm and leg and thought I was dead, so he left without actually killing me."

Natsu's eyes widened as he heard that name. The dragon he hunted was seen by someone. He walked towards Gildarts and stopped a few feet away from him, while his pink locks covered his eyes. "Where?" he asked in a low voice.

"Natsu, this isn't like the dragon that took you in. This one is pure evil. I'm not telling you so you could go get yourself killed and plus, he's long gone by now" Gildarts responded.

"You think I don't know that?" He mumbled.

"huh?"

"You think I don't know he's evil?! Why the hell do you think I'm looking for him?! Tell me where you saw him!" he shouted, demanding answers from the man, who looked shaken by the change in the posture of Natsu.

"No Natsu, no matter how strong you think you are, you are not nearly strong enough to defeat him. I won't lead you to something that can cause your death." Gildarts announced firmly, not quite understanding why he is so persistent on the matter.

"Fine, how about if I beat you then You'll give me the answers I want and if you win then I won't ever bug you again about this. Deal?" Natsu said as he looked up, awaiting an answer.

"This fight is over. If you two continue then there won't be a town left." Makarov intervened and stopped the fight. First off he truly believed that the two of them would wipe out the town if they did continue and second, he wasn't going to take a chance of Natsu figuring out where Acnologia was. It was too big of a risk and the boy was going to lose his life if he ever went against that beast. He ignored the glare that he received from Natsu, while Gildarts nodded in acknowledgment.

"Maybe another time Natsu. Wanna go grab a bite and catch up?" Gildarts asked as he made his way.

Natsu stood there, trying his hardest to restrain himself from beating the answers out of Gildarts because the last thing he wanted was to ruin something that he just regained and forcing him to talk wasn't going to be easy. His scowl turned into a blank expression, while that was the best he could do under these circumstances. The fact that he was denied what he wanted was making him beyond angry but tried to contain that anger even though he could feel his aura darkening around him. He cracked a smile and went back to the guild along with the rest.

"I can't believe he's actually still walking after that fight," Mira said, very surprised by the showcase of power that Natsu demonstrated.

"He fought like a man" Elfman declared, having enjoyed the whole of the spar.

Cana approached Gray and gave him a playful nudge with her elbow "Still think you can beat him, Gray?"

The ice-mage kept quiet but then spoke after a few seconds "Guess we'll have to see, won't we?"

All the while the others were talking, Erza was still thinking about the power she saw coming from him and why he was still holding back. Somehow, that really bothered her and she couldn't put her finger in it. It didn't make sense and he did look like he was giving his all but something was definitely off. She wasn't sure if even she could beat him in a fight and to think that she could manhandle him when they were kids. Another thing that she found extremely disturbing was his obsession with the Black she had every intention of confronting him about this and hopefully, she would get some answers.

They all spent a while in the guild but as night approached, Natsu left the Guildhall and walked towards a forest, which was situated just a little farther away from Magnolia, right on the outskirts of it. As the dragon slayer left, Erza took notice and realized this was the perfect time to talk to him without interruption in order to get answers out of him.

Natsu walked with a frown, still very much bitter at Gildarts for not giving him the location of the dragon he was seeking. He tried to calm down thinking that the dragon was longer there anyway and that he still wanted to enjoy some peaceful moments with the guild and that maybe this wasn't worth it. Plus he needed to get even stronger to defeat him and as he already said, he wasn't planning on dying with the dragon. He was snapped back to reality when he finally took notice of the armored mage following him.

"Why are you here?" he asked, not bothering to turn his head around to actually see the girl.

"I had some questions that need to be answered" she replied bluntly as she walked towards him.

Natsu sighed as he made his way towards a fallen tree log and sat on it while accepting to answer her, not that he could get out of it. He knew how persistent Erza could really get and he wasn't exactly one for patience.

"Why are you after Acnologia?" she asked bluntly, narrowing her eyes as she looked directly in Natsu's, waiting for a response.

'_Of course, she would want to know that. This is really going to be a pain'. _Natsu sighed "I have multiple reasons, the first one being that he killed Igneel"

Erza widened in shock. She thought his father was still alive and that he was actually searching for him. That was the reason why he joined Fairy Tail in the first place. She felt bad for him as he had lost the one he had such attachment to and she slightly regretted reminding him of that death.

He smiled "Come on, don't give me that look, it happened a long time ago so don't worry about it. It was after learning that he had died that I left the guild. I heard that Acnologia was the one who killed him and so, at the first opportunity of gaining power, I took it." he let out a small laugh while he looked down, "You probably think what a selfish jerk I was for leaving you guys for vengeance."

Erza saw only guilt and sorrow in his expression and when he looked up, his eyes mirrored the same. "Natsu..." she whispered

"You're right, you were a selfish bastard" another voice came from behind the trees. Erza seemed slightly shocked while Natsu didn't even budge.

"I was wondering when you were coming out," Natsu said, watching Gray approach from the corner of his eye.

Gray closed the distance between them and put a hand on Natsu's shoulder "I'm sorry about Igneel"

"Nah, don't worry about it. It was a long time ago" Natsu said.

"Still" Gray mouthed, not sure what to say now. "I really don't get why you didn't tell us about any of this. That's what family's for and you instead of relying on us, go up and leave and show up only after seven years. And even that was just a coincidence. You had actually no plan of ever coming back here and that fucking pisses me off" Gray said through his teeth, ignoring the glare he got from Erza, probably wanting to correct his language.

"The old man said something like that too. Must run in the family" he let out a chuckle.

"Did he also tell you what an idiot you are?" Gray asked.

"That one I realized by myself. I...I wanted to come back but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I thought you guys would be better off without me and I still think that. I don't deserve being in Fairy Tail. I lost that right-"

He was stopped when Erza stomped forward and slapped him while looking at him with her blood boiling in anger, glaring at him "How can you even say that? You don't deserve to be here? and how can even say that we're better off without you Natsu?! Didn't you know how much we cared about you?! We were family and you abandoned us" Erza yelled, losing all her composure while being on the verge of tearing up. She was truly hurt by his words and most of all by his actions, even if it was years ago, it still hurt.

"I never forgot about Fairy Tail and its because I cared that I didn't come back," he said in a low voice while his bangs covered his eyes.

"That doesn't make any sense! What could've possibly happened to even make you think that way cause the Natsu I know would never say that" Erza said, at the same time trying to slowly calm herself

"That's exactly it, the Natsu you knew is gone. I've done things that I can never take back. I'm nothing like the person I was in Fairy Tail" he stated.

"What did you do Natsu?" Gray asked concerned, not sure if he really wanted to know the answer to that question but curiosity got the best of him.

He was met with silence. Natsu looked away as he gritted his teeth, afraid that he will make them hate him and that was precisely why he never came back.

"As much as I'd like to know, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to. We respect that" Erza said, not actually agreeing with what she was saying but after seeing the Natsu's pained expression, she couldn't force him to say anything.

Natsu let out a sad smile and looking up at his two friends "I'll tell you guys, but not right now."

"What matters that you are here right now Natsu. How about we talk about something else, like the fight between you and Gildarts" Erza suggested as she sat next to him while Gray sat in front of him

'What about the fight?"

"While you were fighting, tell me if I'm wrong but it seemed you were holding back. Am I correct in assuming that?" she asked sternly, as she kept her usual serious expression on.

He let out a small laugh "Sharp as ever. Now you're probably wondering why? That's cause I didn't need to use it. That simple." he replied.

"Against Gildarts?" Gray asked, slightly taken back from his response.

"I am interested in what you're holding back," Erza said.

"He he, I wonder if I should keep that a secret so I can surprise you later," he thought to himself, knowing that that would just irritate Erza. The scarlet mage glared at him, making it clear that she wasn't going to take that for an answer.

"Are you kidding me?!" Gray yelled irritated, making Natsu chuckle.

"To be honest, I don't really care if anyone knows about this. These past few years I've been training in another form of dragon slaying magic." He paused. That definitely got Erza's curiosity and she was going to beat him to a pulp if he stopped there. "You see how the Fire Dragon King's mode works, right? Well, it's sorta like that."

"So that was something you can alter in your dragon slaying magic?" Erza asked.

"Not exactly. Igneel, the dragon who raised me and taught me magic, he was the Fire Dragon King and so that automatically gives me the potential of developing that mode. What I didn't use is a little bit more different than the King mode. What you saw during the battle was the manipulation of Igneel's power that was passed onto me as his son and his dragon slayer. However, what I learned and practiced over these past years is a bit more complex, kinda like learning new magic."

"So what is this magic?" Gray asked, losing his patience since Natsu was delaying his answer.

"God Dragon Slaying magic" Natsu replied, earning shocked looks from both the mages.

"What...God Dragon Slaying?...you're serious?" Gray stuttered

"Yeah, like I said, King mode was sorta an upgrade while God Dragon Slaying flames are different from normal ones. But they still have their source in common"

"How so?" Erza asked.

"The one who taught me this magic, the Fire God Dragon , he's Igneel's son" he announced.

Both mages starred in shock, not sure what to make out of it. Before neither of them could say anything, Natsu continued "So that's that. Any more questions?"

"So why exactly didn't you use this power with Gildarts?" Gray raised an eyebrow, still confused about that part.

"Why would I? I didn't need it and plus, I was probably gonna if Gramps didn't stop us" he mumbled the last part, still pissed about the outcome of their fight.

"You were going to use that to get Gildarts answer you weren't you? Erza questioned.

"I rather would've had a long fun fight but to get what I want, I'll do anything" he announced and got up "Anyway, I think I answered enough questions for one night, let's go back to the guild"

By the time they finished, all three headed for the guild and the rest of the night went by smoothly.

He then left after a few days spent in the guild, this time actually announcing his parting. It wasn't like he wasn't coming back, he just needed to settle thing in Dragon Terra before perhaps joining Fairy Tail.


	6. Announcment 20

Hey guys, DarkTwil here. Sorry but unfortunately this is not a chapter. Again.

Exams are over so I can start writing again however I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with this story. I had plans for it but I just realized how bad I introduced this story and I really didn't do a good job creating Natsu's character. For that I'm really sorry.

This story's plot is totally lost to me but at the same time, I don't wanna abandon it since I had some ideas. That's why I decided to rewrite the story. The beginning will be pretty much the same except for some minor changes. But I'm gonna do a complete do over of the rest but I'm still glad I realized this before i wrote the rest.

Again, I'm really really sorry about this and I really hope you'll like the new one.

Wow, I just realized the title really sucks but I don't have any ideas for it so I'll keep it until I find a good one.


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